The chief risk officer (CRO) or chief risk management officer (CRMO) of a corporation is the executive accountable for enabling the efficient and effective governance of significant risks, and related opportunities, to a business and its various segments. Risks are commonly categorized as strategic, reputational, operational, financial, or compliance-related. CRO's are accountable to the Executive Committee and The Board for enabling the business to balance risk and reward. In more complex organizations, they are generally responsible for coordinating the organization's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) approach.
The position became more common after the Basel Accord, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Turnbull Report
A main priority for the CRO is to ensure that the organisation is in full compliance with applicable regulations (chief compliance officer). They may also deal with topics regarding insurance, internal auditing, corporate investigations, fraud, and information security. CRO's typically have post-graduate education and 20+ years of business experience, with actuarial, accounting, economics, and legal backgrounds common.
Famous quotes containing the words chief, risk and/or officer:
“[T]he judicious reader ought to know what the chief character in any work of the imagination will naturally perform, according to the situation he is thrown into, as well as doth the author himself.”
—Sarah Fielding (1710–1768)
“Every day, in this mostly male world, you have to figure out, “Do I get this by charming somebody? By being strong? Or by totally allowing my aggression out?” You’ve got to risk failure. The minute you want to keep power—you’ve become subservient, somebody who does work you don’t believe in.”
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“If the tax-gatherer, or any other public officer, asks me, as one has done, “But what shall I do?” my answer is, “If you really wish to do anything, resign your office.” When the subject has refused allegiance, and the officer has resigned his office, then the revolution is accomplished.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)