Redesigning risk frameworks and registers to support the assessment and communication of risk in the corporate context: Lessons from a corporate risk manager in action

Risk assessment frameworks and registers are important Risk Management tools. There has been little research on how Chief Risk Officers (CROs) develop risk frameworks and registers in practice, or of their effects and efficacy within the firm. The article addresses this gap by describing and analysing the experiences of a Corporate Risk Manager with redesigning the risk framework and register for a water utility company in New Zealand. The article raises a number of issues about the purpose, efficacy and effects of risk frameworks and registers as tools for Enterprise Risk Management. The article concludes that neither 'tailor-to-context' nor 'one-size-fitsall' approaches can reasonably reconcile the conflicting objectives inherent to the design of corporate risk frameworks. The article questions whether designing risk frameworks and registers is an effective way for CROs to support organisational decision making. We suggest that CROs are likely to be more effective if they adopt a more engaging approach.