Page 43 - RMAI Bulletin July - September 2021

RMAI BULLETIN JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2021

Leading through a crisis specified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development
Authority of India.
The role of leadership has also undergone a steady
transformation. The pandemic required business With the Securities and Exchange Board of India
leaders to quickly adapt to new technologies, in the face expected to announce a risk regulatory structure for
of a highly volatile environment. the top 1,000 listed companies, these regulations may
be extended beyond financial institutions. As more
Even as normalcy has returned in some small measure, regulatory bodies mandate the appointment of risk
the challenge lies in ensuring that we can stay agile in a
committees and CROs, ERM qualifications/
changing global situation. examinations will facilitate faster career advancement
for professionals and more resilient organisations
Leaders, whether they head businesses or smaller
teams within an organisation, must therefore have the Moving beyond finance
skills to manage a crisis.
Traditionally, risk compliance has been confined to
financial institutions such as banks, NBFCs, brokerage
By integrating ERM education into the university firms or insurance companies. Consequently, risk
curricula, we can help students develop risk
management qualifications were pursued only by
competency from an early age.
students who aspired to work in the financial sector.
Such holistic education ensures an in-depth knowledge However, with compliance structures now extending
of the principles and practices of ERM and lays the to non-financial organisations, there is a push towards
foundation of a risk-conscious approach in our future
risk-embedded corporate governance in different
leaders.
sectors. To facilitate this growing demand, ERM
examinations that provide a pathway to Certified
In the last few years, we have seen an increasing Fellowship (CFIRM) — provided by the Institute of Risk
demand for risk-intelligent professionals. This demand Management — should be included higher education
has shot up further during the pandemic as businesses curricula.
realised the importance of a risk-aware organisational
framework. The aim is to ensure that ERM is adopted Under the NEP2020, students can opt for a second
as an integral part of organisational culture and
degree, in parallel with their primary course. This means
decision-making, instead of being an intermittent and that five-level ERM qualifications can also be pursued,
compliancebased exercise. along with almost any graduation or postgraduation

programme.
Shifting focus
With emerging risks from cyber-attacks, geopolitics, Students and working professionals can opt for higher-
climate disasters, terrorism, wars, and other corporate level qualifications as they gain experience and develop
governance-related issues, we will see an increasing a deeper understanding of the subject.
focus on enterprise risk compliance, and a
corresponding rise in demand for risk-intelligent A robust economy demands that our emerging
professionals. The inclusion of ERM in the higher workforce be capable of staying agile in the face of an
education curriculum can also improve the uncertain business environment. This demands a risk-
employability of graduating students. conscious approach that is deeply embedded within
organisational structures. It has become imperative for
A tightening compliance strucin ture, with strict future leaders to equip themselves with the knowledge
enforcement from regulatory bodies, has also added of risks, as applicable to every aspect of business. We
to the increasing demand for risk-intelligent must ensure that future professionals and business
professionals. For instance, the Reserve Bank of India leaders have the academic knowledge and the
mandates the appointment of Chief Risk Officers (CROs) competence to take decisions using a risk-conscious
in non-banking finance companies beyond a certain framework. Towards this end, including ERM courses
asset size. For insurance companies, risk compliance in the Indian higher education curriculum would be the
comes under corporate governance guidelines, as first step. (Courtesy: Business Line) R

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