Risk Management A Practical Guide

Aug 1, 1999

The RiskMetrics Group is best known for its leadership in the development of transparent risk estimation methodologies and easy-to-use software tools. The founders of the Group have long recognized, however, that there is much more to risk management that just risk measurement. Indeed, perhaps too much public focus has been placed on the sophistication and apparent precision of risk estimation models, and not enough on the more important managerial and judgmental elements of a strong risk management framework. These include the clarity of risk policies, the strength of internal control, the degree of management discipline, the level of internal risk transparency, and ultimately, the experience and market knowledge of risk management professionals. No technical document, however complete and rigorous, can impart that experience and knowledge.

To contribute to a better understanding of these broader elements of risk management, and in response to frequent client inquiries, the experienced professionals of the RiskMetrics Group have developed this practitioner's oriented guide to Risk Management. While the details of the subject matter can, at times, be technical and complex, the essence of the guide is helping practitioners to get the right information on the right issues to the right people at the right time. Not with a view to producing a single right answer, but with a confidence that the right questions will then be asked, leading to the best informed, experienced judgments.

As with all other elements of risk management, the state-of-the-art guide will itself need to be open to continuous improvement, as new techniques are developed in response to ongoing innovations in markets and risk products. This first edition of the guide focuses on market risk analysis and reporting, while also touching upon closely related issues of counterpart risk reporting and external risk disclosures.

Stephen G. Thieke
Chairman
RiskMetrics Group