L-R: Dr. Seye Awojobi, Registrar/CEO, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria; Mrs. Eneni Oduwole, Risk Management Strategist & CEO Alter-Ed Ltd/Former Deputy Group Chief Risk Officer Dangote Industries Ltd; Dr. Ezekiel Oseni, President, Risk Management Association of Nigeria; Dr. Ken Opara, President/Chairman of Council, CIBN and Mrs. Mojisola-Asieru Bakare, National Treasurer, CIBN; Mr. Adesoji Olasoko, 2nd Vice President, RIMAN and Mr. Victor Olannye, Executive Secretary, RIMAN during the 2022 Certified Risk Manager (CRM) Induction held in Lagos.
CIBN, RIMAN CHARGE CERTIFIED RISK MANAGERS ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO REACH A WIDER CUSTOMERS BASE
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and Risk Management Association of Nigeria (RIMAN) have inducted Certified Risk Managers who qualified in 2021, calling organisations to adopt new technologies to reach broader customer base.
The Certified Risk Manager Certification programme was designed in recognition of the importance of Risk Management and the need to build the capacity of Risk Management Professionals to enable them effectively to address current and emerging Risk Management Issues, whilst giving special attention to local content.
The collaboration which started in 2015 has produced One Hundred and Sixteen (116) CRMs, thirty-Seven (37) of which were inducted this year having fulfilled all the necessary requirements for Induction.
Speaking at the 5th CRM Induction Ceremony, the President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Ken Opara, Ph. D, FCIB, observed that this year marks the 7th year of the CIBN/RIMAN collaboration which has been very fruitful so far. He said that adoption of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, blockchain, cryptocurrency, Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning and cloud computing have all caused and continues to fuel disruptions in the ecosystem which have paved way for enhanced services and enabling organisations to reach broader customer base.
While the benefits of the adoption of these new technologies are undeniable, the new normal ushered in a new dimension of risks for both businesses and individuals using the technologies.
He said further that during the Pandemic, banks and other businesses leveraged technological advancements, particularly digital channels to optimize operations. Remote working came to the fore and the digital platforms became the melting pot. This new wave according to Dr. Opara, led to heightened risks of cybersecurity issues such as data breaches/theft, phishing emails, and hacking/cyber-attacks, adding that in 2021 Accenture’s report, security attacks on businesses increased by 31% between 2020 and 2021.
The Cybersecurity Almanac, 2021 noted that the cost of cybercrimes will likely hit $10.5 trillion by the year 2025 while Identified fraud losses in 2021 totaled $56 billion (Javelin Strategy & Research, 2021). Furthermore, with the increase in adoption of social media platforms as significant means for communication with customers, there has been an increase in the risk of reputational damage as a result of malicious intrusions, hacking attempts, or staff negligence when handling social media accounts of organisations, he said.
In his remarks, Dr. Ezekeil Oseni, President, RIMAN, said that the theme for this year’s induction, ‘Enterprise Risk Management and Organizational Efficiency’ was deliberately chosen in recognition of the fact that risk management is important in every business venture. Since the global financial crises and the COVID-19 pandemic, risk management has been more on the centre stage.
Organizations are more conscious of how to embed risk management in their structures. It is therefore imperative that to improve organizational efficiency, risk management has become an integral part of the decision-making. He said that Risk management objectives and organizational performance has therefore become an important process for organizations to survive. It is in line with this that today, organizations are expected to align their risk management objectives, risk approach, risk management framework, risk exposure impact, etc, to achieve excellent performance/efficiency.
This according to Dr. Oseni has become pertinent in view of the global business environment that has witnessed uncommon challenges. Organizations are managing through unpredictable, and crisis-prone business environments with attendant risk ramifications, he said.
The Guest Speaker at the occasion Mrs. Eneni Oduwole, Former Deputy Group Chief Risk Officer and Group Head, Operational Risk Management, Dangote Industries Ltd, highlighted the congruence between Enterprise Risk Management and Organisational Excellence under two broad Categories namely the Enablers and Results. Enablers includes:
Leadership People Policy and Strategy Process Partnership. Results includes:
People Result Customer Result Society Result Key performance Results. The highpoint of the occasion was the induction and presentation of Certificates to thirty – seven (37) newly qualified Certified Risk Managers by the President of CIBN and RIMAN President. Two candidates who distinguished themselves as the best graduating candidates were also honored during the programme.
