TRAINING COURSE - ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT (ERM)

Johannesburg, South Africa – 26 & 27 July 2010

Organisations are experiencing an increased concern and focus on risk management. The challenge for management of both private and public organizations today is to determine how much uncertainty to accept as it strives towards achieving the organization’s objectives and delivering value to its stakeholders.

The solution to this challenge is the establishment of an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) system and processes that effectively identify, assess, and manage risk within acceptable levels.

The COSO Enterprise Risk Management – Integrated Framework is designed to provide best practice guidance for management of businesses and other entities to improve the way they are dealing with these challenges.

COSO – ERM integrates various risk management concepts into a solid framework in which a common definition is established, components are identified, and key concepts described. This enables COSO to provide a starting point for organizations to assess and enhance their Enterprise Risk Management.

This practical 2-day hands-on training course is designed for managers, professionals, consultants, internal and external auditors that deal with the complexities of organizational risk management function on a daily basis.

The objective is to provide participants with the necessary perception, knowledge and skill set to understand the risks and benefits of Enterprise Risk Management and learn how the COSO – ERM framework enables organizations and management to:

• Comply with the requirements for corporate governance (such as the various international standards like the Cadbury Report)
• Align risk appetite and strategy
• Enhance risk response decisions
• Reduce operational surprises and losses
• Identify and manage multiple and cross-organizational risks
• Provide integrated responses to multiple risks
• Improve the deployment of capital.

Additionally to provide attendees with an understanding of the requirements needed to design and implement an appropriate Enterprise Risk Management system, i.e. policies, procedures, practices, and accountability required to establish the right levels of Risk Management in compliance with current standards and other requirements for their organizations.

The course provides an opportunity for delegates to benchmark their ERM practices against the COSO – ERM framework, and learn how to implement an effective ERM system.

For a fully descriptive brochure please send a blank e-mail to courses@citadeladvantage.com with ERM-JHB in the Subject line.

Broker blamed for Dow crash

A Kansas-based stockbroker may have contributed to the “flash crash” that wiped $1 trillion off US stock markets at the beginning of the month.

On May 6, Waddell & Reed placed a large sell order for a group of stock futures that regulators believe may have contributed to the short but shocking market crash. The flash crash briefly wiped 1,000 points off the Dow Jones — its biggest intra-day trading drop — before the index regained much of the lost value.

Speculation initially focused on human error — known as a “fat finger” trade — with rumors that someone had typed billions instead of millions into an order. Regulators have discounted that story.

They are now targeting computer-generated high speed trading and heavy trading in “E-minis”, future contracts used to bet on the performance of the stock market index.

Waddell sold a large order of E-minis during a 20-minute span that corresponded with the plunge, according to a document obtained by Reuters. Waddell said it was one of about 250 investors trading E-minis on the day in question.

Operations Risk - Police expose Latvian hacker who “tweeted” bankers' pay details

Neo, the Latvian hacker who stole millions of classified tax documents from government computers and leaked the information via Twitter, has been caught by police.

In February this year, Neo and his colleagues at the “People's Army of the Fourth Awakening” contacted a local TV station to claim they had downloaded the documents from the state revenue service. They exposed salary details for senior officials through Twitter, revealing that management at a Latvian bank that received bail out money had not taken the pay cuts they promised at the time.

The revelations prompted anger in a country devastated by the global financial crisis and forced to embark on austerity measures to meet the terms of a €7.5 billion IMF and EU led bailout.

The hacker, who took his name from the central character in the Matrix film, attained cult status for his actions and was hailed as a "virtual Robin Hood".

Police have now detained the mystery tweeter, who according to local press reports, is Ilmars Polkans, a researcher in artificial intelligence at the University of Latvia's computer science department. According to AFP, hundreds of protesters chalked slogans outside the main government building in central Riga, calling for Polkans' release.

However, the suspect has confessed and criminal proceedings have been launched, although he has been freed from detention until a trial.

His unmasking came after a police raid on the house of a television journalist recently. This latter action has enraged the country's reporters and prompted the ombudsman to investigate whether freedom of speech regulations have been breached.

Abu Dhabi hotel installs gold ATM

An ATM that dispenses gold bars has been installed in the lobby of Abu Dhabi's five star Deluxe Emirates Palace hotel.

The “Gold to go” machine - developed by Germany's TG-Gold-Super-Markt - dispenses 24 carat one gram, five gram and 10 gram pieces of gold as well as coins bearing designs such as the Krugerrand, Maple Leaf and Kangaroo.

A computer in the machine - itself gold-plated - constantly keeps prices in line with the firm's online store.

Last May the company showcased a machine at Frankfurt railway station and claimed it would install 500 of them ATMs in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Malawi launches mobile banking

Opportunity International Bank of Malawi (OIBM), a provider of microfinance services in Malawi, has launched a mobile phone banking system named 'banki m'manja'. It has done this to encourage rural Malawians’ access to the bank’s services. The OIBM innovation will enable its customers to check their account balance, transfer funds, conduct merchant payments, top-up mobiles, view a mini-statement and change their PIN.

OIBM Chief Executive Officer, Alexandr-Alain Kalanda, said: “We would like to help our customers, who most of the time live in the rural areas where by they spend a lot of money on transport alone to access our services, to have these services right in their palms.”

The service, which is being implemented in collaboration with local telecommunications company, Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM).

Square mobile payment system goes live

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has started to ship out hundreds of free credit card “dongles” that plug into the headphone jack of an iPhone, Android phone or iPad.

The system is called Square, and the free app is available to download now for iPhone OS and Android. Basically, you fire up the app, attach the dongle, punch in the amount (say, whatever you agreed on for selling a couch on say Craigslist), and then have the buyer swipe their credit card through the adapter. No personal information is stored, and the buyer has to sign the phone with their finger. Once that happens, an SMS or email is sent to the buyer confirming the purchase.

It's a pretty simple solution, and it has the potential to revolutionize small business for whom it's quite difficult to get a proper credit card system setup, and the fees can be outrageous. With this, setup costs are essentially nothing, and the fee structure is much more reasonable.

Mobile banking set to rocket

For consumers, mobile banking is about convenience: the ability to check account balances, pay bills and transfer funds from a device they take with them everywhere. For financial institutions, it is a means to deepen customer relationships, streamline operations and cut costs.

Several forecasts predict that by 2015, 50% or more of US mobile users will be conducting transactions from their mobile devices.

“The ubiquity of these devices offers banks an opportunity to connect with customers outside the online channel, including those who are always on the go as well as the under banked and unbanked consumers who lack consistent Internet access,” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “Mobile Banking: Financial Services Firms Look to Cash In.”

Estimates of mobile banking adoption vary widely, although it appears to be growing at a good pace. For example, studies conducted in 2009 by Mercatus, Mintel Comperemedia and Experian Simmons put the usage rate between 7% and 11%.


However, in a January 2010 survey by Luth Research for the Mobile Marketing Association, mobile banking usage was 17% among the overall US population and 19% among mobile phone users. A March 2010 study by OnePoll for mobile billing and message delivery firm mBlox uncovered a 25% usage rate among US mobile phone users.

Research among smartphone users reveals much more extensive mobile banking adoption. Data Innovation’s January 2010 “Mobile Money Study” found that nearly 70% of smartphone users had accessed mobile banking, payment or financial services in the past three months.