Pragmatic Operational Risk Management

Prasad Kodali

Congratulations! You have just joined the corporate operational risk management (CORM) group, or have survived many years in the group. Whatever the case may be, your job could entail facing different groups of professionals at various levels within the organisation: senior management, board of directors, business unit (aka frontline unit, FLU) heads, operations professionals, business unit risk managers, etc. Each of these groups of professionals have a varied understanding of operational risk and, in turn, have varied expectations of what you are responsible for and how those responsibilities are delivered. Regulators (sometimes multiple depending on where your institution is domiciled or does business) are ever present and keen to engage with you. And then there is the unspoken expectation that the efficacy of the operational risk programme is strong.

By now you are beginning to feel some trepidation. This is expected and quite essential in delivering your value to the firm effectively as it necessitates a contemplative and pragmatic approach rather than a purely academic one.

The following chapter will attempt to help you navigate the challenges ahead as you perform your