The case for action

Poor Risk Management is worse than no Risk Management

‘At least we tried’ is a phrase unlikely to receive any sympathy when you are held to account for knowing about a risk, and not addressing it appropriately.

The minimum requirement is an explanation of the actions taken, or not, along with evidence to support the decisions made.

When implementing risk management then, it is imperative to put the mechanisms in place to manage the required actions before getting too excited about where the greatest risks exist in the business.

Recent events in the financial markets represent, only too well, the perils of inappropriate risk strategy, poor governance in respect of the strategy, and a lack of process to continually review and resolve risks. Much has been written and said about the limited understanding of financial products by those charged with managing the risks. Whilst the general public can do little about this, the regulatory bodies are there to protect us; but what happens when they too lack the risk management components essential to operate effectively?

There is little chance, post economic meltdown, that any regulatory body will be left so exposed again. Even less chance that it would be those that regulate our pharmaceutical industry. So, as the regulations continue to evolve into the ‘prevention is better than cure’ context, we had better make sure that we know what we are doing. This is only right. Lives may be ruined by poor financial risk management. Lives are lost through poor clinical risk management. So is no risk management better than poor risk management? That really depends on whether you are a patient, a shareholder or a litigator!

To read the article in full please click on the pdf link below

Good Risk Management Practice - the case for action

For further information please contact Kate Derham at kate.derham@wcigroup.com