Operations at risk: 2006 : findings from a survey of enterprise risk in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

For more than a decade there has been a steady stream of events to support the thesis that we are now living in what has been termed the Risk Society. Outside of political instability and acts of terrorism and subsequent wars, we have seen a series of depressingly familiar high and low profile corporate failures. That these have all occurred is perhaps no surprise to those of us experienced in business or in the study of organizations. However, given the widespread interest in and upsurge in the use of risk management in organizations, it is distressing that events such as those surrounding Enron, the Australian Wheat Board, and Provincial Financial (NZ) still occur. What was not clear to the authors was exactly where Australia and New Zealand stood in terms of corporate confidence in enterprise risk management systems, and this report marks an attempt to offer an independent bench mark of risk management in the region.