Fall risk management intervention : a feasibility and validation study

A fall risk management intervention was undertaken by staff caring for older people in nursing homes. Its acceptability and usefulness was tested. 'High risk times' and 'at risk' individuals were found, thereby identfying times when staff should be vigilant, and specific residents to be targeted with fall prevention strategies.

Opportunity and risk management for complex oil and gas developments

The thesis examines complex new oil and gas field developments, when growing the business from current capabilities and practice to the frontiers of undeveloped reservoirs. The contributors to complexity were identified, and an integrated methodology for opportunity and risk management, assessment and analysis was developed to produce more credible forecasts.

Interest rate risk management using matching techniques

Explores the technique of matching asset and liability cash flows, including its applicability to the management of a pension fund. Explains a new procedure for interest rate risk management. Incorporates a study of the Metallgesellschaft case.

Underpricing, risk management, hot issue and crowding out effects : evidence from the Australian resources sector initial public offerings

The main purpose of this paper is to explore the role of risk management, speculative industry competition effect and hot issue markets. We used a sample of 260 initial public offerings (IPOs) in the Australian resource sector for the 1994–2004 period to test the underpricing effect. We do not find any evidence that risk management can reduce the uncertainty relating to the new issue and hence alleviate the extent of underpricing. A plausible explanation for this lack of evidence is the poor information content of publicly available disclosures regarding risk management activities of IPO firms. We further provide evidence that the underpricing returns for resources IPOs are not impacted upon by the strength of alternative speculative IPO markets. We also show that the degree of underpricing adjusts to both market return in the preceding three months and the average underpricing of resources IPOs in the 12 month period leading to the float which offers an explanation to the hot issue effect observed in the IPO market.

Development of a supply chain management security risk management method : a conceptual model

This paper continues the prior research undertaken by Warren and Leitch (2009), in which a series of initial research findings were presented. These findings identified that in Australia, Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems were the weak link of Australian critical infrastructure. This paper focuses upon the security and risk issues associated with SCM systems and puts forward a new SCM Security Risk Management method, continuing the research presented at the European Conference of Information Warfare in 2009.This paper proposes a new Security Risk Analysis model that deals with the complexity of protecting SCM critical infrastructure systems and also introduces a new approach that organisations can apply to protect their SCM systems. The paper describes the importance of SCM systems from a critical infrastructure protection perspective. The paper then discusses the importance of SCM systems in relation to supporting centres of populations and gives examples of the impact of failure. The paper proposes a new SCM security risk analysis method that deals with the security issues related to SCM security and the security issues associated with Information Security. The paper will also discuss a risk framework that can be used to protect against high and low level associated security risks using a new SCM security risk analysis method.

The effects of perceived business uncertainty, external consultants and risk management on organisational outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relations between perceived business uncertainty (PBU), use of external risk management (RM) consultants, formalisation of RM, magnitude of RM methods and perceived organisational outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a questionnaire survey of members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the UK. Using AMOS 17.0, the paper tests the strength of the direct and indirect effects among the variables and explores the fit of the overall path model.
Findings – The results indicate significant and positive associations exist between the extent of PBU and the level ofRMformalisation, as well as between the level ofRMformalisation and the magnitude of RMmethods adopted. The use of externalRMconsultants is also found to have a significant and positive impact on the magnitude of RM methods adopted. Finally, both the extent of RM formalisation and the magnitude of RM methods adopted are seen to be significantly associated with overall improvement in organisational outcomes.
Research limitations/implications – The study uses perceptual measures of the level of business uncertainty, usage of RM and organisational outcomes. Further, the respondents are members of a management accounting professional body and the views of other managers, such as risk managers, who are also important to the governance process are not incorporated.
Originality/value – This study provides empirical evidence on the impact ofRMdesign and usage on improvements in organisational outcomes. It contributes to the RM literature where empirical research is needed in order to be comparable with the traditional management control system literature.

Internal audit involvement in enterprise risk management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of internal auditors’ involvement in enterprise risk management (ERM) on perceptions of their willingness to report a breakdown in risk procedures and whether a strong relationship with the audit committee affects such willingness to report. The study also investigates the use of ERM and the role of internal audit in ERM in Australian private and public sector entities.
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses an experimental design, manipulating the internal auditor’s involvement in ERM and the strength of the relationship between internal audit and the audit committee. Participants are 117 certified internal auditors. The study also gathers descriptive data on the use of ERM.
Findings – The study indicates that a high involvement in ERM impacts the perceptions of internal
auditors’ willingness to report a breakdown in risk procedures to the audit committee. However, a strong relationship with the audit committee does not appear to affect their perceived willingness to report. The study also finds that the majority of organisations have recently adopted ERM. Internal auditors are involved in ERM assurance activities but some also engage in activities that could compromise objectivity.
Research limitations/implications – There are internal and external validity threats associated with the experimental design.
Practical implications – The findings reinforce the need for organisations to adhere to the recommendations of the Institute of Internal Auditors and to ensure that internal auditors do not play an inappropriate role in ERM.
Originality/value – The paper contributes to our understanding of the impact of involvement in ERM on internal audit objectivity and of the current role of internal audit in ERM in Australia.

A systematic approach to risk management for construction

Systematic risk management is expecting the unexpected – it is a tool which helps control risks in construction projects. Its objective is to introduce a simple, practical method of identifying, assessing, monitoring and managing risk in an informed and structured way. It provides guidance for implementing a risk control strategy that is appropriate to control construction projects at all levels. This paper will review systematic management approaches to risk. It discusses the allocation of risk and suggests that risk needs to be identified and managed early in the procurement process. In addition, a case study of a small project that was affected by difficult economic circumstances is included to demonstrate the effectiveness of systematic risk management.