Risk Management for Executives

Risk management is the critically important area for most companies today. Identifying the risks facing business and deciding which toi bear and which to transfer is a daunting task. And the list of companies that which have had problems continues to grow despite all the publicity.

Increased regulation is not necessarily the answer.

Management awareness and vigilance, internal controls and an overall set of common-sense principles will provide a safeguard. Together they can limit losses perpetrated by even the most determined fraudsters.

Risk Management for Executives sets out these principles in an easily accessible, non-mathematical language delivering a practical programme for controlling virtually every area of risk. It brings risk management to non-specialist executives in both the corporate and financial markets, accountants and lawyers. It will become indispensable to any organization exposed to market and credit risk.

Risk Management for Executives is the handbook which can be read today and implemented tomorrow.

• Part One: Commercial Catastrophes
• Learning the lessons of risk
• Gibson Greetings Inc and Bankers Trust Securities Corp
• Metallgesellshaft Corp
• Barings plc
• Sumitomo Bank
• Daiwa Bank
• Part Two: The Risk Management Committee
• The buck stops here
• Introduction
• Rationale
• Membership
• Responsibilities
• Timing, frequency and organization
• The secretary and topics for discussion
• Minutes
• Policies and procedures manual
• Training
• Conclusion
• Part Three: The Executive's Risk Agenda

• Item one — market risk
• Introduction
• The market and mark-to-market
• Position limits
• Financial authorities
• New products and strategies
• Approval of brokers and counterparties
• Own account trading
• Market risk measurement
• Item two — credit risk
• Introduction
• Credit risk and the markets
• Structure
• Approval of credit
• Master agreements and netting
• Credit enhancements
• Credit derivatives
• Securitization
• Credit risk measurement
• Item three — operational risk
• Introduction
• Fraud
• Millennium risk
• Disaster recovery
• Regulatory risk
• Reputational risk
• Adminstrative risk
• Item four — legal risk
• Introduction
• Current and future disputes
• Contracts
• Legal capacity to enter contracts
• Governing law
• Arbitration
• Item five — any other business
• Introduction
• Management information systems
• Market gossip
• Trader bonuses
• Part Four: The Risk Management Checklist
• Getting It Right
• Introduction
• The risk management committee
• Item one — market risk
• Item two — credit risk
• Item three — operational risk
• Item four — legal risk
• Item five — any other business
• Appendix: Guide to derivatives

A good title, that descibes the contents well. Easy to digest while at the same time covering all the necesssary bases, even if you need to think from time to time to digest it fully.