Certificate in Risk Management & Business Continuity

Managing Risk to Protect Your Organization and Maximise Performance

Every business, large or small, private or public sector, faces a multitude of risks. Not only those that managers have imagined and prepared for but also those no one has imagined could happen. On this course, we consider all manner of risks and how best to prepare the organisation. Using structured frameworks, helps managers to identify strategic, tactical and operational risks.

A cost benefit analysis will quickly show that it is not cost effective to try to mitigate every possible risk. So, this begs the question, which ones should managers prioritise? How much time, money and effort should the organisation spend on addressing the risks? How should subjective analysis of the likelihood and impact of any risk and the resulting management decisions to address them be avoided?

Nassim Taleb famously named the ‘unknown unknowns’ as Black Swans. In Business Continuity Planning, we cannot imagine the existence of black swans and yet, we need to prepare. In responding to Hurricane Katrina, the first organisation to provide help and support was not the Federal Emergency Services but Walmart – how did they did they do this and why?

The nature of risks is ever changing. When comparing managements’ concerns over the last 5-10 years, it is notable that cybersecurity now features either at or near the top of the list. Organisations used to delegate ‘digital’ to their IT departments. Now everyone and everything is digital – what are the risks and how should companies address them?

There are ISO Standards which provide frameworks for overall risk management and also ICT “ensuring that the ICT services are as resilient as appropriate and can be recovered to pre-determined levels within timescales required and agreed by the organization”. ISO standards always follow Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle.

Consequently, a key requirement for companies to meet the ISO standard is related to leadership, management and culture. Risk management requires the buy-in and compliance of all employees: no corners cut, no avoidance of responsibilities. We review the standards, which are not prescriptive in how they should be applied, and help delegates identify mechanisms and procedures for successful implementation.

To learn more about this course, please visit Certificate in Risk Management & Business Continuity

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