Business understanding

This goes hand in hand with the leadership skills. Risk managers must be able to build relationships — and not just with their immediate subordinates. They should also be able to do so with their superiors, as well as other corporate executives and department heads.

Risk managers need to know the potential cost of network outages and security breaches, as well as the likely financial impact of other business risks. Ultimately, financial risk will get everyone’s attention in the C-suite and individual departments. The costs of lost productivity, lost income and financial penalties can be crippling to a business if…

Risk management requires constant education and keeping up with relevant news, trends and issues. Not so long ago, no one had heard of ransomware. Now, it’s one of the greatest cybersecurity threats that companies face. News sites and industry journals should be regular reading material for risk managers.

Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing and managing potential issues that could have a negative impact on an organization’s business operations and financial performance. It involves being mindful of potential risks and what could go wrong — both the expected and the unexpected. Risk managers must be aware of all forms of risk…

Risk managers need analytical skills to collect data, analyze risks and make sound decisions based on the results. They also need to be able to spot holes and weaknesses that others may have missed in IT systems and infrastructure, business processes, financial practices and other areas.

If there’s one thing governments do well, it’s regulating things. Regulations are constantly being added and updated. Risk managers must invest some of their time to stay up to date on all the changes and understand new and evolving regulatory requirements.