Cultivating risk intelligence
Risks, at times, could pose uncertainty or potential threat to an organisation. It can be a potential factor that materially affects the value and the survival of a business. Hence, a business must understand, evaluate and manage risks to achieve its primary objectives while keeping all the risks under reasonable control. During this time of economic uncertainty, more corporations have added risk management function as one of the essential components to communicate risk policies and manage risk processes within the organisation.
Risk management professionals are well respected despite their challenging career. If one is willing to take the challenge, it could indeed be a rewarding career as the knowledge, skills and experiences gained are transferable from one industry to another. In view of the strong focus on risk management and heightened control by the central bank and the local authority, there is a need to install and impart a risk awareness mindset among the students.
“Due to the digital era and the Covid-19 pandemic, the world has experienced a different set of phenomena. Businesses, regardless of their nature of operation, had experienced and tested their limits in this uncertain period. Businesses, as one of the backbones that supports economic development, are forced to face new challenges. With this, they must be ready to embrace the unknown unknowns,” said Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) Department of Banking and Risk Management Head Chong Tun Pin.
Chong explained, “The unknown unknowns are risks that come from various sources including uncertainty in markets, threats from project failures, legal liabilities, error in operations, accidents, natural causes and disasters. It can also be an event caused by uncertain or unpredictable root cause.”
In order to bring up more future professionals in risk management, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)’s FBF has introduced a new programme called “Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) Risk Management”. The programme was officially open for enrolment in January 2021. UTAR is one of the limited universities in Malaysia to offer a business administration programme with risk management specialisation.
The newly introduced Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) Risk Management programme aims at providing students with a comprehensive understanding of risk management for financial and non-financial corporations. The core curriculum of this programme includes analytical knowledge, operation management, legal framework and strategic planning. More importantly, the programme provides students with solid theoretical knowledge and includes case studies that are parallel to the current ever-shifting business environment.
The programme provides three main components of systematic learning which allow students to learn from the fundamental. Firstly, the students are exposed to basic theoretical knowledge that is related to accounting, business, economics, marketing and management. One of the significant outcomes includes enhancing students’ language ability in management. It helps students to interpret management-related content with grammatical knowledge and produce management reports using appropriate formats.
Secondly, UTAR provides specialisation in risk management. Students will learn to analyse issues on risk and insurance, understand the application towards individual and organisation and develop multiple forms of risk prevention and mitigation solutions commonly used within organisations. Students will also learn the importance of occupational safety and health at the workplace, provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) and the responsibilities of employees and employers under OSHA 1994.
Thirdly, students are led to the practical stage where they are guided to evaluate financial statements and interpret other financial or non-financial data analysis. Furthermore, students are also taught to demonstrate relevant literature on the significance of financial and derivative market, as well as the operation of the utilisation of instruments and strategies of financial derivatives.
Chong concluded, “The UTAR Risk Management programme was designed with business administration in mind along with the inclusion of risk management content. The purpose is to create and cultivate risk management reforms in the business sphere without compromising business knowledge. It also emphasises on hands-on practical and risks analytical techniques.”
UTAR offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in areas including Accountancy, Actuarial Science, Applied Mathematics, Arts, Chinese Studies, Malaysia Studies, Business and Economics, Biotechnology, Engineering and Build Environment, Information and Communication Technology, Life and Physical Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Media and Journalism, Education and General Studies, and Agriculture and Food Science. The university also engages in the provision and conduct of research, consultation, management and leadership training, and other related educational services at its Sungai Long and Kampar campuses in Malaysia.
For more information, please visit https://study.utar.edu.my/ or call 05-468 8888 (Kampar Campus), 03-9086 0288 (Sungai Long Campus).
Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) Department of Banking and Risk Management Head Chong Tun Pin