GARP's new podcast with SAS, The New Age of Risk Analytics, features an episode focusing on the new insurance accounting standard, IFRS 17, which may have broader implications for risk managers - whether you are in insurance or not - than might be realized.   David Anderson, Advisory Director, Risk Consulting at KPMG US and Bryce Ehrhardt, Director, Accounting Advisory Services at KPMG US discuss the standard and its implications and value-add opportunities.        The information contained herein is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavor to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. No one should act upon such information without appropriate professional advice after a thorough examination of the particular situation.

Sweeping changes to regulations and accounting standards, breakneck advances in technology and the emergence of innovative competitors are upending the traditional business model. To adapt to this new environment, risk and finance infrastructures must evolve. Over the years, GARP and SAS have worked together to bring risk practitioners unique insights on a variety of topics related to financial risk. This time, we are partnering on a brand new podcast, The New Age of Risk Analytics to take a closer look at ways to compete in this new environment.  CLICK HERE to subscribe.  GARP is pleased to present the inaugural episode of this spinoff podcast, Operationalizing AI and Risk.  The deployment of AI has been a hot topic in almost all business sectors in recent years  - and  this is no different for risk professionals. In the financial services industry, especially for regulated activities, how to effectively use AI technologies has been a real question. In December of 2018, GARP and SAS surveyed more than 2,500 risk professionals to see where they stand in their understanding of Artificial Intelligence and their current usages and challenges.     For our first episode of this podcast, DeLisa M. White, GARP’s Multimedia Content Producer and your host, spoke with John Sjaastad, Senior Director of Global Risk Consulting, SAS, about these survey results, what challenges risk professionals face when it comes to using AI to its full potential, why you can’t stop learning and how AI can help your own career.  Visit www.sas.com/risksurvey to download the report discussed here today.

As a cyber risk management adviser to public- and private-sector organizations, Coalfire  has a firsthand perspective on information security challenges, how they are evolving, and best practices for compliance and controls. CEO Tom McAndrew discusses the current threat environment; security implications of new technologies such as the cloud; and what the Coalfire Penetration Risk Report says about how cybersecurity performance varies across industry sectors and by size of organization.   Let's listen in. 

Risk managers’ role “involves two related but fundamentally different tasks,” David M. Rowe  writes in An Insider’s Guide to Risk Management. Rowe expounds on these tasks – avoiding a “death of a thousand cuts” in normal market conditions, and protecting firms from the potentially lethal impact of catastrophic events – with insights from a 40-plus year career in economic forecasting and risk management, and in the context of “Relearning the Lessons of the Global Financial Crisis,” which is his book’s subtitle. Ground covered in our podcast interview includes risk culture, systemic risk, and regulatory and technological change.  

In 2015, Paxos (then known as itBit) became the first firm active in the emerging digital asset and blockchain business to obtain a New York State trust company charter. Recent milestones include the launch of the Paxos Standard “digital dollar” token and INTL FCStone’s adoption of the Paxos Confirmation Service in the precious metals market.  In this podcast, co-founder and CEO Charles Cascarilla recalls how his early exposure to Bitcoin helped to identify the underlying blockchain’s business potential. He discusses the advantages of being regulated and the progress Paxos has made on its mission to modernize post-trade processes and eliminate settlement risk.

Christine Todd Whitman, former Governor of the State of New Jersey and former Administrator of the EPA (2001-2003), shared her perspectives about creating common ground in communicating climate risks.   “We are making gestures that seem to be industry friendly, but are we all–industry included–going to pay a very high price for the consequences,” Governor Whitman said. She added that environmental protection and economic growth is “not a zero-sum game.”   Listen to Whitman’s perspectives on climate risks and her concerns that short term actions will have long-term negative consequences.

At Citibank, David X Martin (http://davidxmartin.com/) developed one of the first comprehensive enterprise risk management processes. While with AllianceBernstein, he was the founding chairman of the Investment Company Institute’s Risk Committee. Drawing on his lengthy career as a risk management executive, consultant/adviser, author and educator, Martin reflects on the state of the risk profession, changes in the risk landscape, and his current work on cyber risk and board governance as managing partner of cybX.

Fully in effect as of May 25, 2018, the far-reaching data security and privacy provisions of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation are no longer hypothetical for risk managers and compliance officers. In this podcast, Information Security Forum  managing director Steve Durbin discusses the corporate world’s state of preparedness as it approaches the ongoing financial, operational and reputational challenges.

Fabio Natalucci, Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department at the International Monetary Fund, discusses the April 2018 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR). A bumpy road ahead could put growth at risk in the medium term, both because short-term financial-stability risks have increased, and because financial vulnerabilities have built up over the years. Natalucci discusses concerns that central banks may abruptly shift monetary policies by quickly raising rates, the ways in which financial markets have benefited from central bank communication, and the increasing challenges faced by policymakers.

Jeh Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, speaks with Jeremy Davis, VP, Media and Event Producer, GARP about the new age of risk. The risk landscape that we now face is one in which emerging and non-traditional risks intersect to create exponentially complex threats to global stability. That’s where Secretary Jeh Johnson comes in, as he has built his career managing the most complex risks to global security and stability.   Secretary Johnson served as the fourth United States Secretary of Homeland Security (2013-2017). He was General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2012). He is a partner in the Litigation Department at Paul. Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Secretary Johnson was a keynote presenter at GARP’s  Risk Convention on March 6-7, 2018.