Enterprise risk

Enterprise risk encompasses the full spectrum of risk but can be conveniently broken down into four main categories of Strategic Risk, Financial Risk, Credit Risk and Operational Risk. Addressing Strategic Risk is an organisational imperative – both to protect value and to maximise opportunities. Our risk professionals support organisations in developing, refreshing and embedding risk management practices. We believe that setting, communicating and understanding risk appetite and culture are critical to the success of our clients. Our services are underpinned by a range of technology solutions, ranging from standalone risk management tools through to an integrated Governance, Risk and Compliance platform:

• Strategic and Operational Risk Management
• Scenario Planning
• Risk Appetite determination and application
• Developing a Risk Culture
• Governance, Risk & Compliance Technology Solutions

Financial Risk management is typically an issue for financial services companies, such as banks and insurance companies but any entity with a high exposure to foreign exchange and/or capital markets needs to carefully consider these risks.  They are usual categorized under the following headings:

• Foreign exchange risk
• Equity price risk
• Interest rate risk
• Liquidity risk
• Capital risk

Crowe Oman have staff with deep experience of each of the above from both an Oman and international perspective as these markets are truly global.  We also keep abreast of the related regulatory requirements that provide guidance and often hard limits within which the risk exposures must be managed. 

A most fundamental risk for all organisation, Credit Risk has always been around but is it has recently gained prominence as tighter liquidity in the Oman economy has brought a focus on customer credit risk assessment and cash collection activities.  Add to that the ECL requirements of IFRS 9, which requires statistical analysis and accounting for credit risks, by all entities, on a forward-looking basis.  We have staff who have worked on the front line of credit risk management and who possess the highest understanding and practical application of IFRS 9 with the GCC.

Operational Risk, covers all gambit of all the other risks.  Examples, include IT/Cyber, Legal, Accounting, Reputation, Operations, Human Resources etc.  The focus is typically on controlling and minimizing the potential losses from the risks, with and ever-increasing move towards those controls of an IT/automated nature.  Our services fall into two categories:

• Development of Policies, Procedures and Authority Matrices
• Reviews of processes and controls to assess their adequacy and effectiveness
• Testing of controls against those stipulated in the above documents