IRMSA to host awards for the fifth year in 2009

The Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA), will once again host the Risk Management Awards in conjunction with Santam, South Africa’s leading short-term insurer , planned for 22 October 2009 in Johannesburg.

The IRMSA Risk Management awards, launched in 2005, are now in its fifth year of recognising and awarding risk management as an important business discipline.

Quinten Matthew, head of Specialist Business at Santam says the awards state the importance of paying tribute to representatives in the industry for their specific achievements, the innovation they demonstrate and their contribution to the evolution of the industry. “The challenge for any organisation is to have the foresight to identify risk and then, most importantly, to manage these risks based on the company’s risk appetite.”

He reiterated Santam’s proud association with the IRMSA Risk Management awards over the past number of years, noting that the concept of risk management underpinned Santam’s entire business philosophy. “Santam’s strategy is based on encouraging people and organisations to manage their risk and, by so doing, to make their lives and business safer and commercially more viable. The company’s association with IRMSA is further underscored since Santam recently launched a new approach to business focusing on risk management and rewarding personal and commercial clients for managing their own risk,” he added.

The categories for the Risk Management Awards in 2009 are as follows:

• Category 1: Risk Manager of the Year: This award is open to any individual participating in the discipline of Risk Management, based in, and working within, the borders of South Africa. The winning individual will receive R40 000;
• Category 2: Best Small Business Risk Management Initiative: To be eligible for entry into this category, any SMME or entity with less than 100 employees can partake. A cash reward of R10 000 is up for grabs.
• Category 3: Best Government Risk Management Initiative: This award is open to any South African Government entity. Funding to the value of R20 000 will be provided towards a training opportunity for the successful entity.
• Category 4: Most Effective Company Risk Management Programme: Any company with a formal Risk Management Committee/Board can enter this category. The nomination for this award must be from a board member of the company. A documented Policy/Procedure/Framework must be submitted, which outlines the structure and effectiveness of the programme. No monetary award is allocated to this category; however a certificate of recognition will be presented to the winning company.

Matthew noted that brokers and other intermediaries have a growing role to play in identifying and targeting growth segments, and in building relationships around the concept of risk management.

In 2008, Chris Ras was awarded Risk Manager of the Year. Ras is General Manager: Risk & Compliance at SBV Management and commented that the award enabled his business to benchmark its risk management structures and initiatives against industry standards.

Ras advises: “Against the background of the global financial meltdown during the past year, the issue of risk management has become even more important than before. Managing uncertainty is now an integral part of the day-to-day activities of SBV’s management team and we continuously identify uncertainties and then put appropriate structures in place to mitigate these. I would encourage those working in risk management to enter this year’s IRMSA competition”.

All applications must be submitted electronically to the IRMSA offices via e-mail at [email protected]. The deadline for submissions is Monday, 31 August 2009. For additional information and entry criteria requirements, please visit http://www.irmsa.org.za/.