FTI Consulting’s research found that Board members and those in C-suite executive positions view the reputational risks posed by litigation as the most significant risks facing their businesses. This suggests that litigation risk counts as one of the principal, strategic considerations of large companies, rather than being a purely operational or legal concern.
Seventy-seven per cent of respondents to the July 25 2024 Airmic Big Question said their organisations model and quantify reputational risk – making it the top climate transition risk that their organisations measure. […] With the rise in cases of greenwashing reported around the world, reputational risk – as it relates to the climate transition – has emerged as a top concern.
And now, the last bits of the tail of a reputation crisis. “Hedge fund Elliott Investment Management announced yesterday that it has a $1.9bn position in Southwest Airlines, comprising 11% of the company’s shares. It issued a letter to the airline’s board, calling for new directors, a new CEO, more executives from outside, and a comprehensive business review. In its letter, Elliott wrote, ‘While Southwest has a proud history, that history is not an argument for supporting poor leadership and sticking with a strategy that no longer succeeds in the modern airline industry.’” Relevant podcast on what this means for your company: https://5-minute-aventures-in-risk-resilience.zencast.website
How to protect a firm from the humiliation of corporate swatting by fabulist whistleblowers using the Department of Justice.
Manifestations of complex interconnected risks generally culminate in reputational crises, but they can be managed. Relying only on reporting systems when insiders may become aware of such risks…is not risk management. Reporting systems are unlikely to mitigate federal investigations and follow-on issues because today the risk/reward balance favors whistleblowing over internal reporting. In fact, the rewards of whistleblowing are so great right now that corporate swatting–calling the DoJ or SEC with a hot tip when there is no known issue just to see if something shakes looses–is no longer unthinkable.
Podcast. Reputation Spearheads Resilience at a $150bn Financial Services Company. You Don’t Have to Win A Nobel Prize To Benefit From One.
The new program “will create new incentives for individuals to report misconduct,” “If anything (said a defense lawyer), I think you’re going to see more scrutiny on this, […] And the risks are increasing.” The increased risk of discovering an adverse event is not unlike placing an additional bullet in the chamber in a game of Russian Roulette. But with risks increasing to all companies, and risk being the basis for discounting value, all companies will be equally discounted. That will be hard to appreciate in a stock market that is soaring. Until it isn’t. That’s where we come in. With reputation risk forecasting, management, and insurance, Steel City Re helps companies build and prove to stakeholders their thoughtful risk management and dutiful governance over all that is mission-critical. It is an authenticated story stakeholders can appreciate and value.
A “flurry of securities filings noting potential legal and reputation risks stemming from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts follows the US Supreme Court’s June decision .” […] “If we do not successfully manage expectations across these varied stakeholder interests, it could erode stakeholder trust, impact our reputation, and/or constrain our investment and fundraising opportunities,” one filing said.
Reputation risk management is an efficient strategy for interconnected risk. “Risk interconnectivity — the interdependence of various risks, illustrating how one risk can affect or amplify others across systems — is of growing concern to global risk managers. […] Andrew Chung, litigation, arbitration and investigations partner at Linklaters, said the key enterprise risks that are top of mind for clients today are interconnected. He explained: “We are seeing how risks across financial crime, cyber, ESG and energy transition, digital transformation and AI, and geopolitics including supply chain and sanctions all have common elements and data, so now require an enterprise-wide and holistic lens more than ever, to properly manage the risks.”
Steel City Re CEO and former Los Angeles County deputy coroner on what derailed the ESG movement & what boards expect from risk management in the aftermath.