ERM: Time For A Name Change?

Since the fall of the financial markets sector last year, enterprise risk management has been under the microscope. Right or wrong, it’s been criticized. Some have even blamed its failure for the disaster.

I’ve asked a few experts what they think it will take to get ERM back on track—not that there weren’t issues before all this started.

Howard Stecker, senior vice president with Smart Business Advisory and Consulting, recently suggested that one way to give ERM a fresh start might be with a name change. And with so much baggage associated with the ERM name, maybe a new label is something to think about. As well as a fresh start, a new name might better reflect any changes or new directions in the discipline.

In fact, Dan Kugler, assistant treasurer, corporate risk management, for Snap-On Inc., has instilled a program at his organization which he calls “Entrepreneurial Risk Management.” Mr. Kugler said the program helps provide “profitable growth by pursuing opportunities from a customer driven perspective.” (Hear him discuss his version of ERM in NU’s second annual Virtual Conference & Exposition as part of a session on “The State Of Enterprise Risk Management”—free of charge at: http://presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Summit/09-08/Registration/agenda.htm.)

But what, you might ask, could be catchier than the current “Enterprise Risk Management” moniker? That’s a tough one—something risk managers may want to think about and comment on. Would a new name make a difference at all? Are there new directions ERM should be taking that could be reflected in a new name? What names might better reflect ERM? Or should it be left as-is?