Enterprise Risk Management

Enterprise Risk Management is a relatively new term that is quickly becoming viewed as the ultimate approach to risk management. Consultants are advertising their ability to perform enterprise risk management. Auditors are examining how to incorporate enterprise risk management approaches into company audits. Presentations are being made on this topic at many actuarial, risk management and other insurance meetings. Seminars devoted to this topic are being conducted to explain the process, provide examples of applications and discuss advances in the field. Papers on enterprise risk management are beginning to appear in journals and books on the topic are starting to be published. Some universities are even starting to offer courses titled enterprise risk management. It appears that a new field of risk management is opening up, one requiring new and specialized expertise, one that will make other forms of risk management incomplete and less attractive. This paper will explain what enterprise risk management is, why it has developed so quickly, how it differs from traditional risk management, what new skills are involved in this process and what advantages and opportunities this approach offers compared to prior techniques.