b'Last year, AFERM partnered with RIMS, the risk management society, to create the RIMS Certified Risk Management Professional-FED certification. This certification distinguishes the achievement of validated risk management competencies for an effective risk management professional in the federal government environment.Tom Brandtdecisions. Our commute to work is fraught with many risks.annual enterprise risk assessment. We engage every part of Today, there are more tools and apps that can help usthe IRS to review risks across all the units and assess what is mitigate the risks associated with choosing the best or worsthappening in our external environment. As part of this route to work. These tools help us to better understand ourprocess, we review audit findings and take input from options and make more informed decisions.employees, managers, and the leadership team. We will Organizationally, risk is the possibility that events will occurcertainly consider our existing risk and whether there are and affect the achievement of strategy and businessnew risks that are emerging that we need to begin putting on objectives. Risk management provides the tools, techniques,our radar. We have an IRS Executive Risk Committee (ERC) and approaches to better understand risk issues andthat I chair. As an output of the risk assessments, the ERC minimize their impact.develops the IRSs risk profile. Leadership determines whether additional action needs to be taken for any of the Risk is often viewed in negative terms because of therisks and assigns accountability. The risk profile reflects the environment in which we exist. When something goesenvironment facing the IRS, including how over the past wrong much is at stake and significant consequence can beseveral years the IRS has operated with reduced funding and an unfortunate reality. The impact of poorly managed risksa declining workforce while workloads and responsibilities can lead to lots of unwarranted attention. This becomeshave increased. Some of the top risk areas highlighted in the even more of an issue if it happens in the federal sector.IRSs risk profile have included:When something goes wrong in the federal government there is often a rapid tendency to point fingers and layAging technology infrastructureblame, and not take the time to truly understand what hasCyber and data securityhappened and address it accordingly. Operating in such an environment risk will almost always be viewed negativelyCritical staffing shortagesrather than as an opportunity to transform how things areReduced service and enforcement levelsdone. This environment makes people risk adverse. This can unnecessarily limit the ability of organization to beEvery single unit at the IRS also has an ERM champion or innovative. We need to view risk as uncertainty and notliaison. Most of those positions are collateral duty. However, necessarily as negative on its own. Risk management toolssome of the larger units in IRS have a dedicate full-time and techniques can help an organization cultivate a properERM lead. Each unit gets together monthly to stay current on risk awareness culture.what is happening across the IRS and to understand our risk What is enterprise risk management? How does it workresponse strategies. Weve incorporated this discipline into within your agency? the IRS performance management process as well as our business performance reporting. Were regularly monitoring ERM is defined as the culture, capabilities, and practices,and tracking our enterprise risk, but it is not enough to integrated with strategy-setting and its performance, that ansimply go through these exercises to create an enterprise organization relies on to manage risk in creating, preserving,risk list and be done. That isnt going to get you very far. and realizing value. We have a well-established ERMThe key is putting in place risk response strategies and then process. Were six years into our program. We do conduct anmonitoring those risks and our responses throughout the course of the year.32 www.businessofgovernment.org The Business of Government'