The Handbook of Board Governance, 3rd Edition

38Risk Governance: Leading Practice and Demographic Impacts

Ingrid Robinson, MFAc, BComm, CPA, CIA, CRMA

Associate Partner, Enterprise Risk—Ernst & Young LLP, former Assistant Deputy Minister & Chief Risk Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat of Ontario, and former Principal & Managing Director, Enterprise Risk Management, BGIS Global Integrated Solutions

Introduction

“The greatest tragedy would be to accept the refrain that no one could have seen this coming and thus find nothing could have been done. If we accept this notion, it will happen again.” Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

The last two decades were marked by significant global events, such as the 2008/2009 financial crisis and the 2020/2021 COVID-19 pandemic. These events resulted in the collapse of major corporations and put the spotlight on enterprise risk management (ERM) and how organizations anticipate and manage emerging risks.

As disconcerted stakeholders questioned what the board was doing to govern risk when Lehman Brothers ignited the seminal event of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, effective risk governance was the rally cry that echoed throughout the globe. This same rally cry continues in the wake of the global pandemic that has highlighted interlocks in the global supply chain.

With the perception that reckless risk taking underpinned the 2008/2009 economic turmoil and enterprise resilience determined which organizations survived the pandemic, the spotlight turned on board oversight of ERM. ...