A decision by Standard and Poor's ratings, to add enterprise risk management to its criteria for positive ratings of non-financial companies, is a "coming of age" for ERM, a consulting firm said.

Towers Perrin said it expects a broad range of companies will now make ERM a standard part of business or risk rating downgrade.

The consultants said the S&P move indicates ERM has arrived as a factor in the business world, which according to several surveys has been slow to adopt the system.

"While insurers and financial services companies have been demonstrating ERM to the rating agencies for some time, most non-financial companies have not taken an enterprise approach to managing risk," said a statement from Prakash Shimpi, ERM practice director at Towers Perrin.

Mr. Shimpi said S&P's plans to include ERM in its criteria "will undoubtedly place ERM on the list of items that keep CFOs awake at night. Companies are going to be expected to take action."

This week Aon Global Risk Consulting issued a report that said companies are slow to make use of enterprise risk management (ERM) techniques.

Aon said its survey found only one in 10 companies in the Americas and Europe has fully integrated an ERM strategy, even though government regulators and corporate stakeholders are demanding they address and mitigate enterprisewide risks.

Another survey from the Conference Board, a nonprofit business research group, found among companies it surveyed that 55 percent said their corporate boards are a top driver of ERM programs, up from 49 percent two years ago, but despite that finding, their report said ERM is not being integrated in corporate cultures.

Towers Perrin, said it has been counseling clients on ERM for more than 50 years and uses risk analytics to define their risk threshold within regulator and ratings agencies' criterion.

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Towers Perrin: Firms Must Use ERM Or Face Downgrade

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