Distinctive approach

 

To grow corporate valuation in this economic environment.

Emphasizing the right actions begins with distinctions:

• First, a distinction between 1) the practical, daily affect of risk to business strategy, products and operations that then affects business performance objectives (measured in operational terms with their financial and reputation consequences) and 2) “operational risk” as a Basel construct around compliance and reporting.
• Second, a distinction between managing each of these with 1) forward-looking tools of the strategy, product, operations and management accounting disciplines and 2) primarily backward-looking tools of the compliance, control and financial reporting audit disciplines.
• Third, these distinctions influence the design of both the program to manage risk and the actual management of risk. In particular, in the selection of people skills (training and past roles) and personalities.

 

This enables a focus on:

• Managing risk to business performance by better managing risk in decision processes and individual decisions -- both frequent (daily activities) and infrequent (investments or emergency response)
• Strategy, product, process and IT-related risk because they are the causes behind much of what is counted as market or credit risk.
• Focusing on systems and causes instead of “loss events”
• Identifying and overcoming the three catalysts of risk – change, complexity and fatigue
• Managing risk must be simple in order to use it daily in a dynamic world. Complex risk management programs on top of daily complexity and change increases risk.
• Improving efficiency and effectiveness through performance-driven approaches to managing risk that draw on decades of proven practice in strategy, operations, finance and organizational change, rather than compliance/control-based approaches that -- outside of limited situations -- increase risk, provide a false sense of security and waste resources.

 

In a specific situation, appropriate proven practices are delivered though a culture change “wrapper” to foster more sustained change. To engage people this includes:

• Workshop method
• Accelerator widgets
• Conversation clarifiers

 

 

 

 

Services

 

Summary

• Evaluation of Risk - knowing the business, asking "what if?" and watching for warning signs
• Scenario analysis
• Response to Risk - prioritizing, improving, reacting and recovering
• Business cases for improvement
• Incentive alignment

 

 

Outcome acceleration

 

Core Fitness -- Managing risk to business performance the 5+2 way.

• Managing risk to objectives is fundamental to business (strategy, products, sales, operations) as it is to sports, baking a cake or driving a car. Yet, this practical performance-driven approach is in sharp contrast to piling up paperwork and compliance controls.
• Too many organizations are wasting too much time and effort on risk programs without really reducing risk to business performance objectives.
• This workshop is designed to reduce time and cost, and provide more actionable business insight by shifting from compliance-driven to performance-driven management of risk as described in The Operational Risk Handbook.
• Like taxes, compliance will always be with us. However, compliance doesn’t have to damage value creation any more than necessary.
• For customers, investors and a financial company’s contribution to economic growth, managing risk to performance is the only proven, practical path.

This workshop co-presented by Gabriel David and Brian Barnier.

 

Scenario analysis -- heart of managing risk

• Scenario analysis, asking "What if?" is the heart of managing risk.
• If this fails, all else fails.
• This workshop is designed for hands-on practice with this approach to bring more practical benefit to current business situations.

Traction time -- Activity-specific scenario analysis workshops.

• Focused on a single business area (e.g., line, geographic or product) they are rapid action to engage that team and better manage risk to operational and financial performance objectives.

Train the facilitator – a 3 step approach to build capacity for sustainable change in an organization.

• Step 1 is a knowledge transfer workshop where a group of facilitators is trained.
• Step 2 a trainer(s) assists a ValueBridge Advisors facilitator of a “Traction Time” workshop.
• Step 3 the trainee is the facilitator of a “Traction Time” workshop and a VaueBridge Advisors facilitator assists the trainee to “graduate” to independence.

Performance by paycheck – Managing risk through performance and compensation.

• Overcome the frequent problem of multiple measures (often made worse by so-called “risk appetite” statements) pulling people in multiple directions.

• Simplify and speed progress toward more efficient and effective daily management of risk as people make daily decisions.

Outcome acceleration delivery

• Outcome acceleration workshops
• “Teach to fish” personal guidance for the dynamics of your role and your organization
• Accelerator widgets -- diagnostics, actions and progress measures  to accelerate alignment gap closure
• Conversation clarifiers to  cut churn; and improve situational awareness and alignment with management,  board  or investors