Managing Risk Today

If you pick up a newspaper and read the business section, you will find a world of risk. The recent news about sub-prime mortgage meltdowns, the disappearance of our 401k's, and the failure of major banks all involve risk management. Effective risk management can enable executives of companies to grasp hold of opportunity and execute it with aplomb. The downside can also occur when executives ignore the risk management "sound of reason" only to crash and burn because they succumbed to greed.
Our history is full of executives who have often ignored their own risk management professionals who are the "canaries in the mine". Look at some of the major companies such a Bear Stearns. If anyone looked at the website of Bear Stearns, they could view the goals of the Audit Committee. The second goal (of three) was noted as "Oversight of the Corporation's policies and procedures regarding funding, liquidity and liquidity risk management." So what were all those esteemed board members doing to fulfill their duties around this goal? Maybe they were too busy anticipating cashing their stock options!
So......what happened? This blog will explore risk management issues large and small. Often, it will be a rear view. After all, hindsight is 20/20.
Stay tuned...........