Question

We have all heard the saying "The buck stops here". The Treadway report indirectly states that the "buck" stops with the Board of Directors and Senior Management. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley act provides both specific requirements and severe punishments for non-compliance.

For your initial post discuss why the "Tone at the top" of an organization is essential to a successful Enterprise Risk Management program. Please be specific in your post and use detailed examples of the benefits of a strong and focused tone at the top versus a weak tone at the top.

In your subsequent post(s) discuss how risk management can be integrated into a company's culture. Give specific examples. What are some of the barriers?

Answer 1

In simple words 'Tone at the top' means to create and protect a balance between the enterprise values. While balancing value creation, preservation and emphasizing short-term and long-term objectives, there is a straightforward concept which requires effective leadership and discipline to execute. Effective risk management cannot happen in a vacuum. A leadership failure and the organizational “blind spots” that contribute to dysfunctional behavior will undermine even the strongest risk management capabilities

Some examples can be :

• Consistency in employees: If there is strong tone at the top ,the employees will be more consistent
• Integrity : There should be a set standard of integrity that you can live up to. Integrity goes far beyond compliance with the law – it includes how clients and suppliers are treated, the transparency and honesty of communication to staff, and the fairness of the processes used to solve problems.
• and a few others can be work ethics, risk taking etc.