Cyberattacks, financial challenges and poor mental health supports are some risks that Holy Trinity Catholic School Division continues to face and will face in the future, a new report says.
Division administration presented an update about the organization’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program during the recent board meeting. The document explained what ERM is, what is considered risk and the top 5 risks the division faces.
Similar to last year, the top 5 risks are:
- A cybersecurity breach or internal leak resulting in the loss of private or confidential information, with a score of 14.4 out of 25. The likelihood of this happening was rated 3.6 out of five, while the negative effect is four out of five
- The Ministry of Education could compromise or take the division’s surplus/reserve money due to economic or political pressure, with a score of 13.68, a likelihood of 3.8 and an effect of 3.6
- The Roman Catholic Church “may challenge the ethos” of Holy Trinity, leaving many families to believe that the division shares the same beliefs and “does not have an inclusive environment.” Families could also believe that the Church’s response to truth and reconciliation is insufficient and would deter them from enrolling their kids in the division. This risk score is 13.6, has a likelihood of four and an effect of 3.4
- Holy Trinity might not adequately support students and families around mental health, with the risk being 12.24, the likelihood being 3.6 and the effect being 3.4
- The division may not be able to deliver a quality education because of factors such as enrolment decline or a change in student population. The risk score was 12.16, the likelihood is 3.2 and the effect is 3.8
The 10th-ranked risk from last year were labour disputes, strikes or job action. The risk score was 10.88, the likelihood was 3.2 and the effect was 3.4.
The division plans to align and integrate its ERM program with the board of education’s strategic plan, which trustees will create in February, said CFO Curt Van Parys.
Administration will also formally define ERM’s role; add sections to the strategic plan specifying major assumptions, threats and actions to take; build risk concepts into long-range planning; evaluate strategic initiatives before approval; and actively monitor risks related to projects.
Risk is anything that prevents or impedes an organization from achieving its goals and objectives, the report said. Furthermore, it’s not just about uncertainty surrounding future events but the possibility of adverse outcomes. Moreover, there are five steps an organization can take to manage its risk profile.
Holy Trinity plans to use the ERM’s results to map the risks onto strategic priorities to help realize the points of failure in achieving short- and long-term objectives, said Van Parys. This can mitigate or manage the challenges affecting priorities.
ERM can also establish “risk appetite” or risk tolerances to drive decision-making and consistent risk behaviours.
Risk appetite is the amount of risk that an organization is willing to accept in pursuit of value, while risk tolerance is the acceptable amount of risk associated with each risk-taking activity.
Van Parys noted that some benefits to risk appetite include changing behaviour or driving consistent behaviour, enabling risk-based decision-making, tracking and remediating risk, aligning resources, putting theory into practice, developing more intelligent risk reporting, strengthening the process to monitor emerging risks and developing risk “guard rails.”
Many organizations — including Holy Trinity — are considering the risks that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues pose. Some include decarbonization, diversity, equity and inclusion, supply chain disruptions and resource depletion.
Within ERM is the “risk bowties” approach, which takes a complex event and breaks it into understandable and measurable components, said Van Parys. This includes risk drivers, preventative activities, detective activities, remedial activities and potential effects.
“ERM is not an event but an ongoing process,” he added. “It is not something where you can tick off a box. Hopefully, in the future, ERM will be integrated within everything (Holy Trinity does).”
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Feb. 12.
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