Federal Enterprise Risk Management Programs Continue to Mature Despite Pandemic Challenges

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) initiatives allow organizations to proactively manage risk, and effective ERM programs encompass culture, capabilities, and practices, combined with strategy and performance. 

In an interview for the Risk Chats podcast, Kate Sylvis, director at Guidehouse who serves as the ERM Solutions practice leader, discusses a recent survey Guidehouse conducted with the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM). This seventh consecutive survey inquired U.S. federal government professionals for their insights into the current state and trends of ERM in their organizations, including focusing on pandemic-related circumstances agencies are facing.

“With the difficult environment that the federal ERM community faced over the past two years, it would have been easy to let some of the ERM capabilities, practices and enhancements slip, but the results of this survey show that was not the case,” said Sylvis. “The federal ERM community leaned in and continued to mature this capability through these challenging circumstances.”

In the interview, Sylvis discusses key observations from the 2021 survey, including the ERM community’s focus on cybersecurity as the top risk area for strategic objectives as well as barriers to maintaining ERM programs that include culture and leadership-related challenges. 

“Thinking about agency mission, strategy and objectives from an enterprise perspective can enhance the ability of agencies to deliver on their missions to the public in an efficient and effective way,” added Sylvis. “This community has seen the growth of these capabilities over the last decade in very meaningful ways, and we have the opportunity to continue to develop these capabilities and practices as well as the culture to support mission delivery for the next decade.”