Principal risks

Effective risk management is key to the delivery of our business objectives and strategic goals. We have established a risk framework to facilitate the early identification and evaluation of risk to ensure challenges are prioritised and managed accordingly. The objective of the framework is to reduce the risk exposure of all of our businesses in line with the Group’s risk appetite and to achieve excellence through managing risk effectively throughout the Group.

The risk framework which has been developed and implemented across the Group has been closely linked to the strategic planning process. Over 120 active risk workshops have taken place to date, conducted at divisional and functional levels and facilitated by a dedicated Group Risk Management team to ensure consistency in the methodology applied. The framework is fully supported by a web-based risk reporting system which is used to collect, analyse and monitor risk status.

The risk management approach is periodically reviewed to ensure the most effective means for understanding, evaluating and managing risk are in place. We are continuously striving to improve our risk management capabilities and work is underway to further enhance and embed the framework across the Group during the forthcoming financial year.