State-owned enterprises participate in sharing risk management lessons

Governance Coordination Center initiated a discussion looking at the risk management in response to economic uncertainty provoked by the COVID-19 virus pandemic, in order to motivate the State-owned enterprises (SOEs) to share effective risk assessment and management practices.

“Today risk management is becoming a central axis of strategic planning for organizations as we are facing the unpredictable COVID-19 crisis. Neither private businesses nor SOEs are immune to unforeseen circumstances, but the assessment of potential risks and their timely management is crucial. A superficial approach to risk prevention can turn into costly lessons for both the state and its people. SOEs, especially those that manage critical state infrastructure, must be supremely prepared to operate and ensure the continuity of their activities even in the event of force majeure,” emphasized Jekaterina Rojaka, Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) governance guidelines state that organizations must anticipate strong risk management competencies, which are recommended to be included in both SOE structural units and collegial bodies.

“We initiated a discussion to encourage sharing of good risk management practices among SOEs, but the interest in the event proved that the topic is relevant to a much wider audience. We greatly welcome the enthusiasm of companies to distribute their experience and strongly believe that cooperation is a powerful tool for strengthening the sustainability of SOEs. Nowadays, we need to pay much more attention to risk management as a strategic area of governance and look for quick and perhaps sometimes non-standard solutions,” said Vidas Danielius, Director of the Governance Coordination Center.

Representatives of SOEs responsible for risk management and prevention participated in the remote online discussion, named “Risk management – mission (im) possible”. Žana Kraučenkienė, Member of the Independent Audit Committee of Klaipėdos Nafta, Romas Zienka, Head of Risk Management and Prevention, and Vytenis Kraujelis, Risk Management Coordinator, both representing EPSO-G, Edvinas Kerza, Head of the Business Resilience Service Ignitis Grupė, and Laura Joffė, Executive Director of Lietuvos oro uostai, shared their insights.

The discussion “Risk management – mission (im) possible” organized by the Governance Coordination Center was second event of this year to share good governance practices within the public sector. One more discussion on topic about attracting employees to SOEs and strengthening their motivation is planned at the end of August.

Moments of the event