Risk Register

Phantoms and Mummies in the Risk Register 

(Published: 16 February 2024)

My tongue-cheek take on what lives in risk registers...

Do phantoms and mummies reside in your organization’s risk register?  Phantoms are what I call as risks which do not really exist but quietly live in your risk register.  Mummies are those risks which once lived but have existed for so long that they are in effect long dead and have become mummified in the risk register. The presence of phantoms and mummies means that you certainly do not have a vibrant and “living” risk register containing your organization’s current risks.

It may be time for you to do a spring clean to identify and clear out any mummies and do a bit of ghostbusting to rid yourself of any phantoms.

How do you do that? 

Have a periodic risk update exercise with your executive and senior management members to review and validate the risks that are current and really matter to them NOW.   This involves open and frank discussions, deliberations and assessment of the organization’s risks based on its current economic and operational conditions. 

This risk update exercise should leave your organization’s risk register looking more like a refreshed and vibrant garden rather than an old museum!