Search results

Through the 1990s board level risk was the key area of attention. But, the author argues, the events of 9/11 changed all that. Now the focus has moved, first to hazard risk management, and then widening out to cover all areas which board level risk management decisions must now encompass.

The author traces the history and philosophy behind the concept of risk transfer and concentrates on the underlying theory of insurance. He argues that the complexity of the modern business world has meant that the simplicity of the concept has been lost. To this has been added the additional burden of regulation and a greater concentration on risk management. He suggests that the concept of enterprise risk management is the one which cuts this Gordian Knot and describes its benefits in adding value to the enterprise.

Draws on the results of a survey into alternative risk transfer by Marsh Risk Finance covering major corporations over three years. Covers the needs of the buyers rather than the suppliers. Shows how alternative risk transfer can be of value to the insurance world in particular. Highlights a need for this technique to reach a wider audience as buyer perceptions change.

There are a number of trends clearly detectable in the UK markets that have the potential to change radically the approach of major and medium sized companies to insurance. Although some of these have been caused by the substantial increases in premiums triggered by the recent hard market, there are clear signs that these trends are becoming institutionalized, and are thus likely to continue despite any subsequent softening of the market.

Systemic risk is an elusive concept. The author suggests that the search for a proper definition can be fruitless but an understanding of its nature is essential.

This study examines the association between management control systems (MCSs), specifically the interactive and diagnostic use of controls, with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure-action portrayal gap (i.e. the disparity in employees’ perception of their organisation’s emphasis on CSR disclosures relative to CSR actions) and the subsequent impact on employees’ perceptions of organisational performance, both operational performance and corporate social performance. Data were collected using a survey of US lower-level managers, with the data obtained from 209 respondents and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The results reveal that the interactive and diagnostic use of controls both exhibit a significant negative association with the CSR disclosure-action portrayal gap, that is, the use of these controls reduces the gap. In addition, the various dimensions of the CSR disclosure-action portrayal gap exhibit a significant negative association with both operational and corporate social performance, that is, lower gap, higher performance. The study contributes to the CSR literature by providing the first empirical insight into employees’ perception of both CSR disclosures and actions, and hence, the CSR disclosure-action portrayal gap. In addition, the study contributes to the MCS and organisational performance literature by providing the initial empirical insight into the role of MCSs in mitigating the gap through enhancing the interactive and diagnostic use of controls, and the negative association between the gap and employees’ perceptions of organisational performance.