The session addressed the role of the Office of Inspectors Generals (OIG) in combating fraud, waste and abuse and promoting efficiency and effectiveness. The session focused on: 1) balancing the complexities associated with a dual reporting requirement (both to the head of agency and congress — “straddling the barbed wire fence”), and public transparency obligations; 2) OIG responsibilities in countering fraud, including program fraud and official misconduct (case examples and areas of collaboration to be discussed); and 3) challenges and opportunities, including leveraging emerging trends, data analytics and risk assessments across the federal landscape to counter fraud.
Speakers: Bob Westbrooks, Inspector General, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Scott Dahl, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor
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This session explores the intersection between the Federal data strategy, IT modernization initiatives, and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). During the session, we discussed how leveraging data as a strategic asset and implementing cloud technology can improve agencies’ ERM programs.
While the tools in the ERM playbook are helpful in gathering information on risk and then prioritizing risk, often a more fruitful examination of cross-functional risk may be accomplished through gaming, experimentation, or scenario-based planning. These techniques involve examining/walking through a given scenario (or set of scenarios) with pertinent organizational stakeholders, employing various methodologies to frame the problem and provide as much (or as little) structure, as needed. The scenario may be supported by technology (gaming tools, Google maps with data overlays, etc.) however the keys to success is having a facilitation team, skilled in expert elicitation, guiding the discussion, capturing the interchanges, then analyzing the results to assess and prioritize potential outputs to better inform risk management.
Typically, organizations face three kinds of strategic risks: risks to their strategy; risks from their strategy; and misalignment between strategy and culture and/or stakeholder expectations. This session examined risks and opportunities inherent in: setting strategy; aligning strategy with internal organizational culture and external stakeholder expectations; and translating strategy into successful program implementation. Seven selected strategic risk tools and “How-To-Apply Tips” will be highlighted.
This session looked back at how Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) has evolved in the recent years since the 2008 Financial Crisis and will look forward to the next frontier and evolution for ERM.
Partnership between the Communications and ERM teams in Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and the development of a strategy for managing, mitigating and measuring reputational risk.
In this session, the team from the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Office of the Chief Risk Officer highlighted a variety of practices, tools, and techniques they’ve developed and deployed in implementing ERM, including a Risk Advocate Program, Risk Awareness Week and Risk Spotlight Series, ERM Self-Assessments and Peer Reviews, the Executive Risk Committee (ERC), Risk Working Group (RWG), an Enterprise Risk Channel, and more. Participants will receive a variety of templates and samples they can take back and adapt for use in their own organizations.
This session will focus on how analytics, robotics, and cloud technology are being used in Enterprise Risk Management. Panelists will share CXO perspectives on the benefits and potential utility of emerging technology.
There is a distinct difference between simply meeting a requirement and creating something that adds value. Understanding this difference has been key to the growth of some of the most successful global companies but is often forgotten or ignored in the Federal world where innovation and effort are not driven by revenue motivation. With few resources, a complex organizational structure, and significant competing demands, developing and implementing an effective ERM program in the US Coast Guard is challenging. In this session, we will show how some of the same tools and approaches successful start-up companies and Venture Capitalists use to evaluate opportunity and create value are being used to build and transform the ERM program at the US Coast Guard.
As successful ERM programs mature, the need to account for a broad range of stakeholder perspectives in the areas of program development, C-suite support functions, program assurance, internal and external oversight, and audit transparency grow. At HUD, aligning these different needs to help support honest lines of communication for ERM and actionable reporting has been an undertaking since day 1 of HUD’s ERM program. This panel will explore how risk-based assurance, continuous monitoring, and data analytics provide opportunities for agencies to improve performance and work more constructively with the OIG and other oversight bodies.