Ghana businesses urged to embed risk management into operations

Dr Adu Anane Antwi, the Board Chair of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has urged businesses to embed enterprise risk management into their operations to navigate challenges and unlock future opportunities.

Adopting the practice would serve as a “game changer” to improve service delivery and ensure stronger regulatory compliance as Ghana reset its business environment, he said.

Dr Antwi made the call at a stakeholder symposium in Accra on Tuesday, organised by the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC), on the theme: “Resetting the Business Environment: The Role of Enterprise Risk Management.”

He said Ghana’s business environment remained plagued by weak governance structures and sustainability issues, which had led to substandard service delivery, limited accountability, inadequate transparency and ineffective oversight.

If left unchecked, those challenges could cause financial mismanagement, loss of investor trust and reputational damage, he noted.

Citing the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025 survey, he said cyber incidents and business interruptions remained among the top global risks confronting organisations.

Ghanaian businesses must, therefore, embrace Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) as a strategic tool to identify, assess and mitigate risks.

“Enterprise risk management goes beyond traditional siloed risk management as we know it. Unlike traditional risk management, enterprise risk management can serve as a powerful framework for achieving business sustainability by holistically identifying, assessing and managing risks and opportunities,” he said.

He explained that integrating ERM into strategies would enable businesses to better respond to economic downturns, natural disasters and global competition.

It would also align risk appetite with strategic objectives, optimise resource allocation and strengthen business continuity.

Dr Antwi noted that ERM was not only about avoiding failure but also about building resilient, adaptable, and forward-thinking organisations.

He called on businesses to strengthen their ERM frameworks by cultivating a risk-aware culture, moving up the risk maturity ladder, and leveraging technology such as artificial intelligence.

He urged stakeholders to avoid treating risk management as a “box-ticking exercise” and instead embed it into strategic decision-making to enhance service delivery and business sustainability.

Mr David Kudoadzi, Lawyer and Chair of the ORC Governing Board, said the theme of the symposium spoke directly to the realities facing businesses today and underscored the need to build systems that could withstand uncertainty while creating confidence for investors and entrepreneurs.

He said while Ghana had made progress in registration reforms, corporate governance and insolvency laws, those gains continued to be tested by global economic shocks, technological disruptions, pandemics, climate-related risks and governance challenges.

“The question is no longer whether risks will arise, but how prepared we are to manage them when they do,” he said.

Mr Kudoadzi said ERM should not be viewed as the preserve of compliance departments but as a shared responsibility across businesses, regulators and society.

“ERM is about more than minimising losses; it is about building resilience, trust, and confidence in Ghana’s economy,” he said.

Touching on the ORC‘s role, Mr Kudoadzi said it went beyond enforcement to guiding businesses toward stronger foundations, emphasising that effective risk management was key to economic transformation.

The symposium brought together regulators, private sector leaders, professional associations and civil society actors to deliberate on practical strategies for embedding risk management in Ghana’s business environment.

Source: GNA

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