Alison Statham video transcript

As a Management Board member, I work closely with all my colleagues across the board to identify and mitigate risks to the firm.  And we actively consider and debate our approach to risk across our governance forums from the Executive Risk Committee and Client Committee, through to our Supervisory Board Risk Committee, our Public Interest Body and to our recently created Audit Oversight Body.

In June, we finalised our Risk Register for the forthcoming year. A real reflection for us as a board is the way in which our risk landscape is rapidly evolving -  the pace at which risks are presenting themselves is accelerating, with increasing complexity and disruption, not just for us but for our clients as well. 

In response, we work collaboratively with all our Risk Governance bodies to ensure our approach is agile, and that our risk organisation and culture is evolving to adapt to the changing landscape. 

And our commitment to high quality is a core part of our culture; we believe it is the collective responsibility of all members of our firm to uphold and protect the strength of our brand in all that we do. In practice, our business leverages the risk support ,controls and processes in place across the firm on a daily basis, to apply rigour in relation to all our risk decisions.

Of course, as with all businesses our risks continue to evolve both as our external environment and our own business changes. And each time we make an investment, change or launch a new product, there is risk to consider - and we are focussed on taking on that risk in an informed way. But in our current age of constant disruption, it’s impossible to anticipate, identify and mitigate all the challenges we will face in the year ahead.

That is why we are focused on our resilience as an organisation, ensuring we are  able to withstand disruption through the strength of our processes, our culture, and our values, balanced with the agility and flexibility to respond quickly to change - just as we did this year in response to the war in Ukraine and previously throughout the pandemic.

One way we are building our risk awareness is through our investment in strategic risk management capabilities. Through the use of data analytics, horizon scanning, and engagement with a diverse range of subject matter experts, we are able to deliver risk-led insights to support our strategic planning and decision-making.

Why is it important?

Our global strategy, the New Equation, sets out how we will address the breadth and complexity of challenges facing businesses and society. This includes helping our clients rebuild trust and as part of that managing and mitigating the risk that surrounds opportunities for growth.

Aligned with that, we believe our strategic and holistic approach to risk acts as a business and growth enabler, delivering a competitive advantage for our firm whilst protecting the interests of our clients, our broader stakeholders and enabling us in delivering on our purpose.