Risk management should be a collective enterprise, not an individual one

The current global economic turmoil and credit crisis does not signify enterprise risk management (ERM)’s failure, but rather an over-reliance on financial models, said participants in the Ontario Risk and Insurance Management Society (ORIMS)’s ‘Lunch and Learn’ session.
Held in Toronto on Jan. 21, the seminar served as a round-table discussion for approximately 35 members of the risk management community. Discussion revolved around what risk managers are doing within their respective organizations to further the implementation and practice of ERM in the wake of the global economic meltdown.
Discussing the role of the risk manager, participants noted the focal point of risk management in an organization should be a ‘Centre of Excellence’ made up of several people articulating the organization’s risks, rather than one chief risk officer.
There are three elements to risk management, participants noted:
•    the person who owns the risk;
•    the person who coordinates the risk, and
•    the person with the expertise to deal with the risk.
Risk managers should not be considered the in-house ‘expert’ with the knowledge and solution to all risks facing an organization, participants said. Rather, they should ensure that people in the company have the expertise to deal with the risk, and risk managers should also serve as a bridge between the people with the expertise and the owners of the risk.  
In other words, risk managers should not be expected to have the answer to all problems facing a company, but they should be able to offer a process for mitigating and solving problems.