Reputational Consequence Management: The Future

Mike Finlay

The opening chapters of this book have dealt extensively with the reputation of the firm and the implications for the firm when that reputation is tarnished or damaged, irrespective of the cause behind the tarnishment or damage. In this chapter, building off these foundations, we will change focus to address how firms can make their reputational management strategies forward-looking and what challenges can be expected to be faced when managing reputation and the reputational consequences of, in particular, operational risk in the future. It is for this reason that, rather than use the much-disputed term “reputational risk” within this chapter, we shall rather refer to “reputational consequence management” as encompassing all aspects of risk identification, assessment, quantification, remediation and proactive management throughout this chapter.

WHEN THE UNACCEPTABLE BECOMES COMMONPLACE

When children are very young, most parents will warn them, particularly if they are female, that it takes only one silly or ill-conceived act to cause irreparable harm to their reputation. Yet, as children grow, they question the lessons taught by their parents, particularly when they leave the