FUTURE With a fresh strategy in place, IRM will continue to focus on supporting members while raising awareness in key sectors and increasing its global presence. We outline the developments ahead W ith interest in risk management growing across industries and building momentum in high growth economies, IRMs board agreed the institutes strategic priorities for 2015/2016 at its meeting in May. The 2015/16 strategy also clarifies additional key industry sectors in which IRM will drive increased awareness of the institutes work and underline the importance of the global scale of our membership. Growing our membership base internationally Key sectors While maintaining our work with and support for all our members will always be our top priority, this year we will also be focusing on raising awareness in additional key sectors. We have selected them using criteria including current student numbers, group scheme membership, appetite for IRMs short courses and our existing relationships and partnerships. The sectors are: n UK insurance n UK construction and transport n Middle Eastern energy, construction, transport and utilities n UK banking n UK utilities n UK central government Going global IRM is a global body, with members in more than 100 countries. As awareness of enterprise risk management grows across the world and high-growth economies negotiate new global economic, technological and geopolitical risks we will be focusing more keenly on building membership to meet this need. Our initial priorities in the next 12-18 months will be the Middle East, and working to strengthen our partnerships in a number of key ASEAN countries. Developing our membership base Certification We anticipate the launch of IRM certification in July will support a shift in the way the risk profession is seen by the wider world. First, it will clearly demonstrate how and why risk deserves to have the same status as other professions. Second, the comprehensive and thorough standards will give employers, recruiters, regulators and other stakeholders a straightforward way to distinguish risk professionals who have achieved them. For risk professionals themselves, certification will provide a set of professional and behavioural benchmarks against which they can measure and plan their development at every stage of their career. The standards will be available from www.theirm.org under Membership later in June. IRM Certification will officially launch on 1 July, with a ceremony to award the first Certified Fellows (CFIRM) with their certificates happening on the following day. Transitional arrangements We will be publishing a detailed set of Q&As covering every aspect of the transition to certification later this month on the Membership section of our website at www.theirm.org Other routes to certification We know that many risk professionals will already have considerable knowledge, skills and experience, even though they have not taken the International Diploma in Risk Management. So, in 2016, we will also launch a new Executive Route. This will be aimed at risk professionals who hold a senior strategic and decisionmaking risk role and have a minimum of five years relevant experience. Well keep members updated on these developments. The institute will also be launching an Assessment of Prior Learning (APL) route in October 2015. The APL provides an alternative method to get IRM recognition for other routes of learning and professional knowledge. Face-to-face workshops We are currently developing a new service a series of face-to-face workshops to support students taking the International Certificate in Risk Management (modules 1 and 2 of the International Diploma in Risk Management). We will be piloting this new service in the autumn, and welcome expressions of interest in taking part in the pilot from those registering for modules 1 and 2 in September. Please register your interest with Paul Hopkin at paul.hopkin@theirm.org and well get in touch with you with more details later this year. Broadening our sphere of influence As the In the news section of our website shows, IRM is increasingly being asked for commentary by the media on a wide range of regulatory, behavioural and specialist areas. This is also a result of our proactive approach to working more closely in partnership with a number of external organisations and bodies to ensure the enterprise risk management perspective informs future regulatory and advisory developments. IRM framework for Solvency II risk models The insurance industry as a whole has spent millions complying with the Solvency II regime, with large companies paying around 200m each for the required system and business changes needed. This spend has included the creation of sophisticated risk models that assess the inherent riskiness of each business and the resulting capital levels needed to support solvency. However, there is still more to do to create real business value from these internal models. To address this issue, last year IRM set up the cross-industry Internal Model Industry Forum (IMIF), led by IRM chairman Jos Morago, to produce a collaborative industry view of best practice around the use and validation of internal models. The IMIF now has more than 300 members, plus support from key consultancies and representatives from key regulators. On 21 May, IMIF published guidance based on its research into the effective validation of risk models created by the insurance industry to meet Solvency II requirements. The valuation cycle: developing sustainable confidence and value is available at www.theirm.org/knowledge-and-resources/thoughtleadership/creating-value-through-internal-models/ Morago explained the significance of the guidance: IMIFs first guidance is the result of input and experience from over 300 industry experts. It will help firms make the important decisions needed to keep their models fit for purpose. We are very grateful to Rob Merry, HSBCs global head of independent model review, insurance and pensions, who led the workstream creating the report, with support from Barney Wanstall, insurance consulting director from PwC. The report, the first in a series, generated wide industry interest. The Wall Street Journal interviewed IRMs director of corporate relations, Carolyn Williams and its report is available at www.theirm.org/media/1362063/IRM-WSJ.pdf The IMIF will publish two further reports later this summer: Diversification benefit: Understanding its drivers and building trust in the numbers; and Operational risk modelling. Well keep you updated nearer publication dates. CYBER SECURITY