Who ever imagined the impact of the Covid-19? That many borders would be closed? How about the crash in world markets? We are talking of trillions of dollars lost due to this epidemic…it will take decades to recover.
To my risk management colleagues, did you see this coming? In your strategic documents, risk registers, did you cover this?
To accountants, when you were coming up with budgets, did you factor in the corona virus impact? Was your scenario analysis perfect?
Actuarial scientists, did your risk modelling factor in possible epidemics that can shut down world markets?
To students of accounting at college, did lecturers cover this? Is it in the syllabus?
I like the World Economic Forum and they captured the top 20 risks in the world. Someone was paid hefty amounts for compiling the list. We are talking of the top risk managers in the world from the best universities. How come they left out the corona virus?
Where is the problem with risk management?
Its mostly a closed profession made up of finance folks…
The finance folks have little knowledge of other sectors such as health, how disease outbreaks can negatively impact social and economic spheres.
Who has been following the locusts doing marathon runs from East Africa towards the Southern Region? Is the profession trekking this? What is the possible financial impact?
In hindsight, perhaps when the virus hit Italy, this was a big red flag but then this was a virus, they spread with lightning speed…
Perhaps it’s a new era of globalisation, we are experiencing an epidemic in a globalised world…we are learning in the process!
Question now is, how reliable is risk management in a globalised world? Unfortunately old practices, knowledge and skills becoming redundant.
A risk management professional now needs to have balanced skills…finance is no longer enough.
You have to read medical journals, engineering too, follow environmental issues and more. Trek problems building up in Paraguay or Taiwan and possible viral impact across the globe.
I cannot even locate the Wuhan Province, had never heard about it but what happened thousands of kilometres away now has a direct impact on us.
In Zimbabwe we need health professionals to work together with risk management professionals-we can no longer rely on one profession for risk mitigation and control. Sadly the culture in Zim is each profession works alone.
The concern is after the corona virus, what next? Is the disease man made? If yes, what stops the manufacturers from celebrating and introducing another deadly one? Do we know enough about this disease?
