PARIMA sets one-year target for first risk manager certification

PARIMA’s new risk management certification should have its first graduates by next year’s conference, according to chairman Franck Baron.

The certification, entitled rimap, will provide independent confirmation of the professional competences, experience and standards of individual risk managers, and accreditation for the risk management programmes of educational bodies.

The news comes off the back of a recently announced partnership between PARIMA and the Federation of European Risk Management Association (FERMA), which launched rimap last month.

Speaking to StrategicRISK ahead of today’s conference, Baron said the “game plan” was to adapt FERMA’s model for the Asian market and go through a pilot stage in mid-2016.

“I’m targeted to be able to communicate about the first recipients of the certification by the next [PARIMA] conference,” Baron said.

Rimap rests on four pillars: knowledge, experience, continuous professional development and a code of ethics.

Baron said he hoped the framework would become a benchmark for global organisations on the best practice for risk management.

He also called for “better and stronger collaboration” between regional associations to help risk managers mitigate increasingly complex and connected global exposures.

International benefits

This is not the only certification available for Asian risk managers, but it is the first to have an international framework.

The US-headquartered Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) is also understood to be in discussions about launching its adaptation to the rimap model.

FERMA president Julia Graham said: “This is the way that the profession is converging and raising its game.

“Well risk-managed businesses make more money, it’s as simple as that. Those with advanced approaches to risk management are more profitable than those who have unsophisticated approaches.

“We should just get to grips with the fact that the world has moved on and we’re now in a new era of revolution. But the difference is that the new normal is more sophisticated and more challenging … so are we as risk managers up to that more sophisticated and challenging new world? In some cases, absolutely, and in other cases, possibly not.

“If we’re going to take this journey and be the type of risk managers for tomorrow’s business I think risk managers have got to change. We’ve got to change our skillset; we’ve got to change how we use that skillset. We need to up our game.”

PARIMA growth

Baron said he was also “thrilled” with PARIMA’s increased membership base and growing geographical footprint.

Since last year’s conference, the association has appointed new board members in Japan (INPEX managing executive officer Takashi Kubo), Myanmar (Myanmar Brewery head of risk management Jagath Guru) India (Reliance Industries senior vice-president chief insurance Saurabh Verma), and Thailand (CP Group senior vice-president insurance office Supaporn Chatchaisaeng).

It has also increased its membership.

“Last conference we had 250 members from eight countries (in Asia) attend,” Baron said.

“At the last count we are almost at 600 members and we have members in all countries of Asia-Pacific, from India to New Zealand, from Japan to Indonesia, Macau, Australia.”

Baron said that the strong development of PARIMA was a “proof of concept” that there is a growing development of risk management across the region.

“As a professional community, we have to cope with growing demand coming from top management regarding better and more sophisticated risk management approaches,” he said.

To cope with its increased membership base, the association appointed Stacey Huang as its new executive director. Huang began her role earlier this month.