Raising your game: A new era in risk governance
In today's complex and volatile risk landscape, effective risk governance is more crucial than ever. This blog introduces Raising Your Game, a comprehensive report developed by The Risk Coalition in partnership with Diligent. Designed to enhance risk governance, risk-taking, resilience, and reporting, this guidance outlines eight essential principles that can transform risk management from a defensive mechanism into a strategic enabler. Discover how adopting these principles can help your organisation navigate uncertainties, seize new opportunities, and achieve long-term success. For a comprehensive understanding of the principles and guidance, download the full Raising Your Game report from the Risk Coalition here.
Join our webinar on March 19th for more practical strategies and insights to elevate your risk governance practices. Find out more and register here.
Why raising your game matters
Stakeholders expect increased levels of risk and assurance reporting. Raising Your Game sets out eight essential principles to support and enable better risk governance and more effective decision-making by boards and management. An integrated approach to risk and assurance by boards will further help apply this guidance in practice.
The role of effective risk management
Raising Your Game reflects the evolving risk landscape and underscores the role of effective risk management not just as a safeguard, but as a driver of strategic success. Designed for boards and committees with consolidated risk oversight responsibility, the guidance helps leaders across industries understand what good risk governance looks like. It also provides a roadmap for improving the quality and effectiveness of each organisation’s risk arrangements.
Risk management: A strategic enabler, not just a safeguard
Risk management should not be seen solely as a defensive mechanism to prevent failure. It should be recognised as a strategic enabler, helping boards to better navigate uncertainties and seize new opportunities for growth. High-performing organisations don’t just manage risk to avoid pitfalls—they use it as a tool to navigate complex environments and unlock competitive advantage.
Insights from industry leaders
— Sir James Wates, Chair – Vestey Holdings Ltd and Family Business UK
Organisations that embrace the principles set out in Raising Your Game can expect to:
- Improve strategic alignment throughout the organisation
- Smarter identification and pursuit of emerging opportunities
- Strengthen operational and financial performance and resilience
- Increase resilience and long-term value creation
- Enhance risk reporting and provision of sound assurances to the board
Integrated assurance for better governance
Integrated assurance matters to board directors as they make and stand accountable for commitments to stakeholders. Directors require confidence that these commitments are viable. The board should explicitly communicate, document, and confirm with all three lines what it expects in terms of risk-related reporting and assurances linked to its strategic objectives and pursuit of emerging opportunities. It should also encourage the fullest collaboration between itself and the three lines to deliver these comprehensive assurances.
The role of internal audit and risk advisory functions
Internal audit and risk advisory functions play a critical role in training and coaching operational units about the importance of their risk information, analysis, reporting, and its linkage to strategic objectives and exploitation of emerging opportunities. This risk intelligence can then be confidently given to the board to strengthen the assurances a board is required to give to its stakeholders.
Transform risk into competitive advantage
Adopting the principles and guidance in Raising Your Game should serve as a valuable framework to help boards and executives turn risk from a challenge into a competitive advantage and exploit new opportunities.
Register for our webinar "Raising Your Game: An Eight-Step Guide to Enhance Risk Governance," here.
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