Federal Enterprise Risk Management Programs Exhibit Positive Effectiveness Trends

As federal Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs remain an emerging capability, US government leaders continue to focus on navigating the unknowns that matter and expanding positive trends related to ERM effectiveness.

In an interview with the Risk Chats podcast, Kate Sylvis, director at Guidehouse, discusses the results of the 2022 federal ERM survey conducted in collaboration with the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management (AFERM), addressing some of the main takeaways. One of the key observations from the 2022 survey, Sylvis notes, is a change in the rankings of risks with the greatest expected impact on strategic objectives over the next few years: While cybersecurity remains a key risk, it has been overtaken by human capital.

"If we look at human capital, a large portion of federal employees are eligible to retire, and that number continues to grow," explained Sylvis. "Looking at the potential employees that could come into federal service and the research around how Generation Z and millennials like to work indicate that the percentage of those potential employees that want to work traditionally is much smaller than prior generations."

One of the biggest developments in responses year-over-year is risk appetite: in 2022, 54% of respondents indicated that they have a defined risk appetite statement, compared to 39% last year. "Risk appetite has had the lowest response rate since we started the survey, and to see that increase so much was really exciting," said Sylvis.

The 2022 survey is Guidehouse's eighth consecutive collaboration with AFERM to gauge the current state of ERM within federal government agencies.

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