Understanding the risk profile of the organization is an essential first step in managing it. Use of data and metrics is essential for making the subject more tangible and retaining management and staff attention to the issues at large.

Traditionally, risk management had been viewed as consisting of separate and distinct elements. They have been recognized to include risk identification, assessment and/or measurement, and mitigation or control. Although the process has always been continuous, it was often viewed to require formal and orderly risk identification reviews, followed by analysis, then a focus on controls. Today, rates of change in technology and business processes have accelerated to such a point that separate analyses are too often out of date before they are even completed. Thus, the need for continuous and dynamic reviews is more evident today than ever before. Fortunately, advancements in technology, frequent reporting, and interactive systems will support a more timely response.

This principal entails the building block strategies for moving toward dynamic risk profiling and management.

The most successful programs have been built around a continuum of risk tools for effective identification, assessment, mitigation and finance. Advancements in risk monitoring include risk profiling and dynamic risk profiling. Risk profiling recognizes the need for combining different types of assessment and measurement and control tools for a complete picture of an organization’s risk. Dynamic risk profiling requires a continuous and timely process, enabled by interactive technology. Work to apply them for more effective and timely day-to-day risk management.