Business

5 Best Practices for Operational Risk Management

Published

2 years ago

June 14, 2023

Managing risk prevents procedural failures from becoming tangible losses, like regulatory fines, penalties, and reputational loss. Operational risk management (ORM) protects your organization from potential threats and lessens the impact of an event, should one occur. This process involves detecting, analyzing, and mitigating risks, along with improving outcomes through better decisions.

Since risk is an inherent part of doing business, and human error is unavoidable, it’s necessary to have a strong operational risk management strategy.

Here are the 5 best practices for managing operational risk in your company.

Use risk management software

Workiva highlights how an operational risk management tool is the first thing you need to successfully manage risk. It can be extremely difficult to thoroughly assess and mitigate risk manually because there are far too many nuances and details to track. Plus, some tools provide automation to support your needs. The right tool will provide you with a plethora of financial reporting options, compliance integrations, and will connect your data from multiple sources to make your risk-based decisions more accurate.

These days, manual data management is nearly impossible. When it comes to key risk indicators (KRIs), you can’t afford to make mistakes. By using an operational risk management tool, you’ll reduce preventable oversights and mistakes, which will help you better manage risk.

Accept risk only when the benefits outweigh the potential cost

Unnecessary risks don’t provide significant value to a goal. It’s never a good idea to take on unnecessary risk because the cost can be devastating. Unfortunately, many people, especially entrepreneurs, have a personal bias that distorts judgment and limits critical analysis.

What makes a risk unnecessary? It’s not the level of the risk that determines whether it’s worth taking, but rather, the potential benefits. Your organization might be fine taking on high risk if the benefits will outweigh the cost, both financially and otherwise.

Regardless, all major risks should be cleared by senior management and stakeholders first.

Address risk at the appropriate level

Decisions will be made at every level across your organization, so make sure risk decisions are made by the right people. For instance, employees shouldn’t be making decisions that have the potential to seriously impact the company, and managers need to ensure their employees have a strong understanding regarding how much risk they can bear and when to escalate a situation to a higher-up.

Plan ahead for remediation

Part of operational risk management involves planning. The decision makers in your organization should be incorporating ORM into business processes, which requires time and resources. However, this should be part of every planning and execution phase.

Categorize and prioritize your risks

You’ll need to categorize and prioritize your risks to get a good idea of what actions you should take and decisions you should make. This is done with a control matrix in five basic steps:

Identify your risks before conducting your assessments
Measure risk probability
Assess the potential impact
Calculate total risk
Update your control matrix accordingly

Within your risk control matrix, you’ll be prioritizing risks from the following categories:

People risk. These are risks caused by people and human resources management. For example, hiring the wrong people, improper training, unmotivated team members, and high turnover rates often result in errors, fraud, and other ethical actions that can harm your organization.
Systems risk. When internal systems fail, losses can be devastating. This can include the loss of backups, downtime for networks, and other technical errors.
Process risk. When internal business processes are inadequate, your business can suffer. This includes things like product design flaws and failure to meet project deadlines or deliver projects to a client’s specifications.
External events risk. These risks are out of your control, like storms, floods, hurricanes, fires, and even manmade problems like robberies, terrorist attacks, and wars.
Legal compliance risk. When your business fails to comply with internal and external compliance regulations, the risks are great. These issues often involve tax and financial accounting regulations, internal ethical codes of conduct, and any other regulations imposed by a regulatory body governing your industry.

Operational risk management is critical for success

There are many ways to make a business successful, but if you don’t manage risk, one error or incident can tear down all your hard work. The best way to manage risk is to avoid it whenever possible. However, you can’t avoid all risk, and that’s where strategic risk management comes into play. Choose the risk you’re willing to accept, mitigate the potential consequences, and continue fine-tuning your decision-making process to respond better to similar risks in the future.

Business

YesLoanz: How to Borrow Money Without Regrets

Published

7 hours ago

February 19, 2025

Matthew Wiles

The experience of dealing with a loan can vary, but it seems that there are more negative stories than positive ones. In fact, this is not the case, it’s just that such stories are better remembered. If you know how credits are structured, what the overpayment is for, and if you are sober about the burden, loans can be a good financial instrument to benefit yourself. How can I borrow money without regretting my decision? The experts at YesLoanz share their insights.

YesLoanz is an innovative lending platform that offers a wide range of financial solutions for real estate, business, and investment purposes. The company focuses on transparency and efficiency, providing borrowers with flexible terms and minimal documentation requirements. By leveraging modern technology and a customer-centric approach, YesLoanz simplifies the lending process, enabling clients to achieve their financial goals with ease.

Do You Really Need the Loan?

The first and main question to ask yourself is: is lending really necessary? A lot of times credits are taken out on impulse, be it to buy a new gadget on urgency, take off to a trip, or give an expensive present. If the goal is short-term, a credit card may be a better option, especially since most offer interest-free grace periods of one to three months.

However, moneylending is good when it works for you — it helps improve your financial situation, increases your income, or allows you to make investments. For instance, a loan for education or business development can provide more benefits in the long run than a debt for an expensive phone that will quickly depreciate.

Understanding Loan Terms

The moment one decides to go for an advance, the next step is to study the conditions well. Many people make the mistake of focusing only on the interest rate. You must bear in mind other aspects such as the annual percentage rate (APR), hidden fees, extra for being late, the chances of early repayment, and, lastly, the total overall overpayment. In some cases, the low interest rate is offset by high insurance fees and additional payments.

It is also important to understand how the percentage is calculated. The annuity gives you constant repayments per month with higher sums paid in total as interest, while a differentiated payment scheme reduces your interest costs with decreasing payments. If you realize that you don’t have the patience to delve into everything, then perhaps you should consider postponing your loan application or seek professional guidance from lenders like YesLoanz.

Choosing the Right Lender

Selecting the right bank or lending institution is just as important as choosing the allowance itself. The difference in contracts from one offer to another may be staggering. Let’s say one bank offers a lower interest rate, but at the same time requires additional insurance, and another gives a loan with a slightly higher rate, but without unnecessary payments. It is worth comparing the offers of several financial institutions before signing a contract.

Currently, there are many online services for comparing lending terms that will help you choose the most profitable option. Additionally, check the lender’s reputation by reading customer reviews, examining contract terms, and reviewing their financial ratings.

Assessing Your Financial Stability

Borrowers often get into big trouble when they underestimate their financial burden. Many people take out larger credits than they can comfortably afford, only to struggle with high monthly payments. According to YesLoanz financial experts, debt obligations should not exceed 30-40% of monthly income. Beyond that, this money will turn into a financial strain.

Creating a detailed financial plan before borrowing can help you understand how payments will fit into your budget. It’s also important to factor in inflation and potential risks, if you need to pay off the loan for several years. During this time, your financial conditions may change: salary levels can fluctuate or new family responsibilities can arise.

Planning for the Unexpected

In addition, it’s always wise to have a backup plan in case of financial difficulties. What if suddenly your income would decrease? Some lenders offer loan deferment or restructuring options, but it’s best to inquire about these policies in advance.

Emergency funds are useful for the repayment of any debts in situations of force majeure. Theoretically, any such fund must cover expenses for three to six months, enough to meet credit liabilities even under unforeseen financial contingencies.

Making Timely Payments

A timely payment is a good credit score saver. Non-payment draws charges and penalties, and negatively affects the credit history such that getting a mortgage can be tough in the future. You can set autopayment for deduction of the amount of the monthly installment so as not to get into trouble. If you have any difficulty in making payment, discuss the problem immediately with the lender and offer suggestions for a solution, canceling any missed payments that could result in a legal procedure.

Exploring Alternative Financing Options

Before borrowing money, explore alternative funding sources. For example, if you want the money for a short period of time, it might be to your advantage to use a credit card with a grace period rather than a consumer advance. In some cases, one may arrange zero-interest installment plans from the seller, which is way better than borrowing from the bank. Special government loans or some nonprofit organizations may offer financial products with advantageous market rates for a particular group or organization.

Beyond numbers and contracts, borrowing also has a psychological aspect. Before applying for a loan, you need to make sure that it aligns with your financial goals and that repayment will be manageable. Financial literacy plays a key role: understanding the basics of money management, budget planning, and credit mechanisms helps avoid mistakes and make informed decisions. With the guidance of YesLoanz experts, navigating the borrowing process becomes significantly easier, ensuring you get the right financial solution with confidence and clarity.

Credit is neither evil nor good in itself. It is a tool that can be used wisely or recklessly. A responsible approach to borrowed funds allows you to avoid problems and make them a useful financial instrument. Therefore, before signing a contract, it is important to carefully weigh the pros and cons, assess the possible risks and make sure that the loan will really be a step forward, and not a burden for many years.