CRMA News and Media
Enhancing ERM in SVG: CRMA-KHBC and General Employees Corporate Credit Union Ltd.
Following the St. Vincent Co-Operative Bank Ltd.’s recent efforts to strengthen its Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, another prominent institution in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), the General Employees Corporate Credit Union Ltd. (GECCU), is now following suit.
GECCU has engaged the Caribbean Risk Management Academy (CRMA) and KH Business Consulting LLC. (KHBC) to assess and enhance its ERM and AML/CFT architecture. This initiative reflects a broader recognition in the region of the importance of robust risk management strategies in navigating increasing global uncertainties and challenges.
As SVG continues to witness the benefits of enhanced ERM, GECCU’s proactive approach further underscores the growing trend of institutions investing in resilience and sustainability. This commitment positions GECCU to better manage risks and maintain compliance while strengthening its operational resilience in a volatile world.
Lunch and Learn: CRMA-KHBC, SVCBL and the SVG Chamber of Commerce
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: A View from Outside
SVG is situated in the Lesser Antilles in the north-eastern Caribbean Sea between St. Lucia and Grenada. A popular transit point for smugglers, its many islands and rugged coastline contribute to its vulnerability, rendering it difficult for law enforcement to extensively patrol and prevent criminal activities.
SVG is not a regional or international financial centre. Agriculture and tourism are the major contributors to the economy, with these sectors being adversely impacted by the COVID19 pandemic as well as the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in 2021. The GDP per capita is USD 7,787.09 and SVG’s financial sector consists of Domestic Banks, domestic insurance companies, international banks, registered agents, micro-financing entities, credit unions, building societies, friendly societies, and money service businesses. SVG also has registered agents (offering company formation services), lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and jewelers/dealers in precious metals and stones. There are no casinos operating in SVG.
In relation to technical compliance, SVG made extensive updates to its legislation in 2022 and March 2023. However, technical compliance deficiencies remain in relation to several FATF Recommendations, such as wire transfers, transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons.
Commentary
In the rest of our lifetimes the pace of change, the complexity, volatility of risk will never again be as slow as it is today. Extraordinary events are becoming the norm. No individual or organization can predict specific risks. But organizations must prepare for an uncertain and volatile future that includes climate change, societal disruptions, pandemic risk, technological disruption, geopolitical risk, threats to the global supply chain, and cyber-crime, data protection, and privacy issues. In other words, Boards must be prepared to operate and govern during a “polycrises” environment.
Organizational resilience requires a deliberate effort to design resilience characteristics into five layers, leadership, culture, people, processes and infrastructure – to maintain its adaptive capacity to execute under stress.
Taking ERM to the SVG Islands: CRMA-KHBC and the St. Vincent Co-Operative Bank Ltd.
“In an increasingly volatile world, achieving holistic organizational resilience is becoming the new requisite for corporate strategy and risk management”. ~The McKinsey FERMA Study.
In the last few years, the Caribbean, Central, and Latin America have been characterized by unprecedented negative disruptions and massive global challenges, whereby the resilience of economies has become paramount for sustainable development. This imperative is particularly pronounced for these countries/islands, given their vulnerability to various risks ranging from natural disasters, crime, societal disruptions, and geo-political and economic risks. Adopting robust Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) practices has become a strategic imperative in navigating these complexities, offering a pathway toward transformation and resilience. Additionally, our working world has become highly Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous & Hyper-Connected (VUCA-H). For this reason, securing a Natural Resilience to Disruption has become the primary goal of organizational enterprise risk management.
With that being said, I would like to congratulate the St. Vincent Co-Operative Bank Ltd. because it requires the humility to realize one has something to learn. And I imagine that one reason why the SVCBL engaged us is because of that “intellectual humility”.
~Ken Hackshaw
Taking ERM to Central America! – CRMA, KHBC and the Belize Social Security Board
In February 2024, CRMA-KHBC was engaged to strengthen the ERM Architecture of the Belize Social Security Board in the form of a “3-Day Corporate Governance and Enterprise Risk Management Masterclass Workshop”
CRMA and KHBC sincerely thanks the Belize Social Security Board for engaging us to develop and execute the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) training workshop for its board and executive managers. It was an absolute pleasure helping your organization strengthen its risk culture, leadership and governance, while also guiding you on your journey towards organizational resilience.
Our hope is that you stay proactive, resilient and anticipatory.
Keep “Future Proofing” your endeavours and organization…
Cheers and Best Wishes!
Ken Hackshaw discussing, “Mitigating Risks: Effective Risk Management Strategies in Global Public Health”, on the HF Panel
CRMA’s Founder and President speaks to “Risk Management and ERM in Global Public Health” on Mornin’ Barbados.
CRMA’s Ken Hackshaw at Caribbean Association of Banks CEO and Directors’ Forum 2023
Ken Hackshaw Co-Writes with Dr. Wayne Charles-Soverall
CRMA’s Founder and President, Ken Hackshaw, co-writes a chapter in the book “Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Covid-19 and The Caribbean, Volume 1: The State, Economy and Health” with Dr. Wayne Charles-Soverall.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic was the largest single shock experienced by most countries since World War II. It not only tested, and continues to test, the capability of governments to implement policies and operational responses to address the pandemic, but it also identified the many vulnerabilities that existed within the operations and governance of these institutions. The net result was that public health regulations and systems, as well as economies and societies, were exposed to substantial risks associated with this major shock. As a consequence of these realities, governments across the globe recognised the need to adapt and improve public policy-making processes and public sector health operational procedures as they grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this chapter is to explore how governments across the globe (including the OECD, and Latin America and Caribbean) confronted the risks associated with the public policy processes that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors apply a qualitative methodology for exploring the risks associated with the phenomenon of the COVID-19 crisis. This allows for multiple facets of the phenomenon to be revealed and understood based on Caribbean countries as the unit of analysis. The boundaries for this case are limited to the policy responses implemented by Caribbean governments so that it can be determined how best to strengthen and prioritise governance arrangements to proactively respond to future crises.
Teshia Hinds welcomes Ken Hackshaw on Mornin’ Barbados to discuss “CRMA’s Risk for Youths Program”
CRMA’s Ken Hackshaw with Fazeer Mohammed on TV6 Morning Edition: “CRMA’s 4th Annual Hybrid ERM Conference 2022”
Ken Hackshaw, CRMA’s Founder and President on Antigua and Barbuda Broadcasting Services (ABS) Interview
CEO, Ken Hackshaw, on Mornin’ Barbados: “Risk in the Caribbean and CRMA’s 4th Annual Hybrid ERM Conference 2022”
CRMA’s Sister Company KH Business Consultants Limited selected to strengthen the ERM at CARPHA
As the Founder and Managing Director of KH Business Consultants (KHBC), I am proud to share excerpts from an article on KHBC being selected to work with CARPHA to strengthen Enterprise Risk Management at the agency. This partnership is even more critical given the role of CARPHA during the current pandemic. (read the full article using the link below)
“On November 10, 2021, CARPHA signed a contract with KH Business Consultants Limited to strengthen the ERM at the agency. The project, which is expected to extend over a period of six months, includes the development and revision of a number of ERM documents including the ERM policy, a risk register, and an ERM manual. KH Business Consultants will also deal with the capacity building of the agency’s staff in the ERM area.
“As a regional organization with a public health mandate, CARPHA operates in an environment that is characterized by a high level of uncertainty,” said Dr. Joy St John, Managing Director of CARPHA and able to manage the impact of these uncertainties on the agency’s strategic goals. ERM will help ensure forward-looking and risk-oriented decisions at all levels of the organization, thereby maximizing profits and avoiding unnecessary losses. “Funding for this activity is provided by the European Union (EU) through the 11th European Development Fund (11th EDF).”
Cheers!
Ken Hackshaw