- Can you directly and quantifiably tie your corporate risk appetite and objectives to your formal risk management policies and controls?
- Are you tired of having “one size fits all” recommendations foisted on you by auditors that don’t> really understand risk?
- Does your firm have a “single version of the truth” regarding critical operational data to ensure that all departments are operating based on the same data and assumptions?
- If challenged by shareholders, could you quickly and clearly demonstrate that you followed best practices in meeting your fiduciary responsibilities?
- What impact would a rogue executive or trader have on corporate earnings? On your career?
Risk Management is an ubiquitous term. It includes risks external to a company (market price risk, credit risk) as well as internal (operational risk, fraud). It seems that just about everyone offers risk management consulting services, services often as ubiquitous as the term itself. The difference between consultants can, in large part, be measured in experience.
Many consultants’ “industry experience” was a stint at a very mature shop. They learned by rote what to do but not necessarily why. Others were more fortunate; they got to build risk management departments from the ground up. The rules are not theory to them – they wrote the rules. They understand the difference between the symptom and the cause.
Why use International Commerce?
The Principals at International Commerce fall in this second group.
We place substance over form. We emphasize getting basic risk management “blocking and tackling” down first. We will run the project as if we were you, the buyer. We remember what it’s like! Any guidance we provide will be based on years of experience, not theory.
International Commerce has breadth and depth in risk management. We provide support across all aspects of risk management performed at companies engaged in trading, including but not limited to:
- Corporate Risk Appetite – Identify key categories of your corporate risk; quantify objective limits for each category (harder than it sounds!)
- Corporate Risk Management Structure – Help design your entire corporate risk management structure, from the Board to Internal Audit. Identify and define all committees comprising this structure, including members and responsibilities
- Policies & Procedures; Controls -- Recommend (as required), update and/or draft Risk Policy and Risk Procedure documentation. Design daily controls activity typically performed by risk management or the mid-office
- Risk Limits – Identify and set limits that clearly address risks identified in the official Corporate Risk Appetite
- Credit Risk Management – International Commerce can help you with needs as simple as shortterm projects (i.e. review the credit worthiness of a potential new customer), up to drafting full policy and procedure documentation, including system selection and implementation
- Risk Management IT Systems – Full system selection/implementation projects. Extends from the RFI/RFP process through final User/Internal Audit acceptance. Available for short-term projects.
- “Single Version of the Truth” – Ensure that “common data” used by multiple groups within your firm is consistent. Too often, different “versions” of data are located in different locations. Modifications do not necessarily make it to each location, causing data to become misaligned. Decisions are made on the wrong version of “common data.” International Commerce will assist in rationalizing and aggregating your data in a more secure and reliable structure. Additional information on back
- Program Management (for Risk Management projects) – Large risk management projects are very taxing on your existing Risk Management Department. All International Commerce Principals come from the industry where they have each purchased consulting services. This experience allows us to be your “clone” in a sense. After understanding your objectives, we manage your project’s day-to-day activity, interrupting you only as required. This can free up 80% or more of your time to perform your “real job” which never went away.
These services offer significant value if:
- Your firm’s activity includes a stock/commodity trading business
- You have performance/credit risk due to existing purchase/sale obligations
- You have operational centers (i.e. trade floors) in more than one physical location
- Your critical data is not all centralized; each department has its own “version”
For more information contact Dunham Cobb today;
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call 561-818-5518.
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