New York, May 3, 2011 – Executives in the C-suite expect risk managers to step up and take a more active role in integrating enterprise-wide risk management with their organizations’ broader strategic goals, according to a new survey by Marsh and RIMS.   Marsh-RIMS Survey Finds Senior Management Expects Risk Managers to More Actively Engage in ERM and Strategic Planning Activities   An overwhelming majority of risk managers and C-suite executives agree that, during the three years of the financial crisis, expectations of the risk management function have grown, according to the eighth annual Excellence in Risk Management study published jointly by the two organizations and released today at the RIMS 2011 Annual Conference & Exhibition.   ”For those risk managers who may not be sitting on the firm-wide risk committee, now is an opportune moment to seize on these growing expectations and establish a strong strategic role for themselves and their departments,” said Brian C. Elowe, a managing director in Marsh’s Global Risk Management Division.   Of the survey’s more than 1,000 respondents, 80 percent said senior leadership’s expectations of their organization’s risk management departments have grown over the past three years.   When C-suite respondents were asked in what areas expectations have grown:     Although both groups agreed that companies expect there to be deeper integration of risk management across the enterprise, the survey highlighted some areas of disconnect between the views of the C-suite and those of risk managers.   For example, risk managers were much more likely to say that risk management needs to be involved earlier in the strategic planning process; that senior management needs to increase its support of the function; and that communication between risk managers and senior management needs to improve in order for risk issues to be better integrated into overall strategic planning efforts.   Survey participants agreed that in many organizations the presence of “siloed approaches” make it more difficult to practice risk management on an enterprise-wide basis.   “Clearly, the opportunities are there for risk managers to become stronger leaders within their organizations,” said Carol Fox, Director of Strategic and Enterprise Risk Practice for RIMS. “Risk managers needn’t wait for an invitation. Rather, seeking opportunities for involvement in strategic initiatives and fostering deeper collaboration across ‘siloed’ functions will demonstrate risk management’s value in advancing the organization’s strategic and operational objectives, just as the C-suite expects.”   Other significant findings from the survey include:     The survey was compiled from online responses received during the first quarter of 2011 from 1,022 risk managers and C-suite, finance, and other executives involved in risk-related functions.   RIMS members can download a copy of the report, Excellence in Risk Management VIII: Greater Expectations, Greater Opportunities, at www.RIMS.org/ResourceLibrary. Others may access the report by registering here.   A discussion of the survey’s findings will take place on Wednesday May 4 at 3:15 PT at the RIMS 2011 Annual Conference & Exhibition this week in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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