* IoD Cyprus: Alan Waring launches his book on governance and risk management
Boards and individual directors and executives can no longer take a ‘what can we get away with?’ attitude towards running their organization unless they want to invite the kinds of corporate disaster that occur so regularly, said Dr Alan Waring in his lecture on Corporate Risk Management and Governance delivered to a special Institute of Directors (Cyprus) meeting held at the Bank of Cyprus headquarters on 27th June. Robust risk management is an essential part of good corporate governance and both are necessary for corporate reputation, business success and the avoidance of crises and disasters, he added.
Chaired by IoDC President Evdokimos Xenophontos, the lead panel included Petros Florides, Regional Governance Adviser for World Vision, and Masis der Parthogh, the publisher and editor of Financial Mirror. The audience included leaders from the business and finance world in Cyprus, including former Finance Minister Michael Sarris. Coinciding with the launch of his latest book ‘Corporate Risk and Governance: an End to Mismanagement, Tunnel Vision and Quackery’, Dr Waring’s lecture drew heavily on the book’s content, which represents a distillation of his expertise and experiences in risk management over a 35-year career. He summarized a number of the book’s 75 case studies, including some relating to Cyprus such as The Decline of Cyprus Airways and the Mari-Vassilikos Disaster.
Michael Sarris asked what more might be needed from a public policy standpoint in order to get all large companies to carry out their governance and risk management responsibilities. Dr Waring replied that further and more precise legislation and regulation may be required but also there has to be a credible enforcement mechanism for those who choose to ignore the requirements. In addition, it is important to apply the governance and risk management requirements to all kinds of large organization and not just those listed on the CSE. This means organizations such as State Owned Companies, banks, insurers, large accounting firms, government ministries and departments, local authorities, large private companies and so on, as the principals of governance and risk management are the same even if some required methods and procedures may vary. The stakeholders whose interests require protection are not just shareholders of listed companies and stakeholders of all kinds needed to be more active and vocal in demanding good behaviour from such organizations. Petros Florides concurred and went on to outline a new initiative he is driving, that includes a ‘Governance Charter’ which aims to cover all these organization types.
Masis der Parthogh noted that the book’s concluding chapter recommended greater emphasis on further education for directors and executives to improve their knowledge and understanding of risks and governance and enhance their decision-making. Dr Waring commented that better education needed to be in two areas. First, all degree courses in the broad area of business, management and finance (and possibly some other areas) should include a compulsory module on risk management rather than an elective component, since the topic is core to the satisfactory running of any business or organization. Second, all relevant professional bodies operating CPD (Continuing Professional Development) schemes should include compulsory requirements relating to risk management.
See video interview with Dr Alan Waring http://www.financialmirror.com/web.php?vid=2614
His book is available at Gower Publishing http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9781409448365
