Risk is an integral part of any enterprise and event. Whatever you do, there is always the possibility that something will go wrong. This is especially true for business, since in this area risks exist in a variety of forms and can occur in the most unexpected places and moments. That is why there is a risk-based approach that allows you to act most effectively in conditions of increased risk. What is the essence of this process? What factors does he have? Is it used in the Russian Federation, and if so, at what level? This article will be fully devoted to what a risk-based approach is and all the details that concern it.
The essence of the approach
So, first of all, you need to understand what a risk-based approach is. Imagine an enterprise that operates in a market. There are a huge number of risks that concern it, depending on what kind of activity it carries out. Conducting control and supervision activities at this enterprise can be carried out in a variety of ways, but in recent times it has been the risk-based approach that has gained the most popularity. The specialist analyzes all the possible risks that relate to this enterprise, identifies the biggest among them, eliminates those that do not greatly affect the enterprise, and then creates a full-fledged strategy to combat them so that the enterprise can function as efficiently as possible, reducing their likelihood. So the essence of this method, in other words, is to search for those factors that prevent the company from functioning one hundred percent, and their further leveling.
The relationship of risk and business
Many entrepreneurs may think: why do they need a risk-based approach in the control and supervision activities? After all, their enterprise is small, therefore, it has all the risks on the surface, and they do not represent a real danger. However, this is a big mistake. Even the smallest enterprise can have dozens of diverse risk factors, many of which are hidden from the gaze of a layperson. As a result, they go unnoticed, are implemented and do not allow the company to achieve the desired goal. Accordingly, a risk-based approach in control and supervision is very important, since it allows you to identify all risk factors before they could be realized, and then turn this information into a full-fledged business plan that allows the company to function, avoiding implementation one or another risk factor, thereby increasing its productivity. The entrepreneur will be able to clearly see which processes are most at risk - and not start them in order to significantly increase his chance of success. Well, now you understand in general terms what this method is. It's time to take it apart and examine it more closely.
Risk
Before embarking on a risk-based approach, you need to clearly understand the basic concepts associated with this process. And the first, of course, is the risk. What it is? Risk refers to a specific event that has not yet occurred and is not happening, but may happen in the future - and at the same time it has a certain percentage of the probability of damage to your enterprise. The difficulty here is that the risk can be either directly the event itself, or a factor influencing others. At the same time, one should not forget that it may or may not happen; its effect can be both serious and weak. That is why it is recommended that an expert on this approach be invited to use it, since a lot depends on the experience of a professional. A person who has been working with a risk-based approach for more than a year will be able to more clearly and quickly determine the severity of certain risks and distinguish between their factors.
Initial and residual risks
What else do you need to know about a risk-based approach? Organizations use it more and more. However, it is recommended that you use the services of specialists, as they will be able to help you make the most effective risk plan for your company. For example, you hardly know what the initial and residual risks are, and also what is the difference between them. Naturally, you should find out about this even if you do not plan to use this approach, as this is very important information. The fact is that sometimes even the most serious measures do not give you an absolute guarantee that the risk will not be activated. That is why this distinction exists. The initial risk is the one that exists initially without any outside interference on your part, while the residual risk is the one that remains after all possible measures have been taken to eliminate it. Naturally, most often the residual risk has a much lower probability of activation and much less potential damage. And already this makes it clear that the risk-based approach in control is very effective and incredibly useful for any type of business.
Risk factor
The term “risk factor” has already been mentioned more than once - but what does it mean? This is the result of some action, inaction or condition, because of which it increases the likelihood of a particular risk, and also increases the likely damage that will be caused when it is activated. The risk factor that triggers the risk realization process is the cause, and this causes a lot of confusion among many people. The fact is that some factor will be the cause, but not all factors are the cause. You can easily remember that there will be one reason for the activation of the risk, and there can be many side factors that will increase the likelihood of activation and increase damage. It is easy to imagine that in different sectors both risk factors and the risk-based approach itself will vary. In labor protection, for example, risk factors are unlikely to coincide with those that exist in the field of small business. So, you now have a general idea of how this works. It's time to take a look at a good example. And what will be better than the recently begun process of introducing a risk-based approach into the system of organization of state control and supervision of the Russian Federation?
Issue of Resolution
On April 1, 2016, a government decree on a risk-based approach in organizing and conducting control and supervisory measures was issued in the Russian Federation. In accordance with it, it was decided to introduce this approach at the state level to increase the functionality and effectiveness of government bodies. In principle, the same thing happens in the business sphere - the entrepreneur must decide on the implementation of a risk-based approach, and already it, as confirmed by the documents, starts the whole process, which will be discussed now.
Definition of types of control
So, where did the risk-based approach to the organization of state control in the government of the Russian Federation begin? First of all, the Government decree identified the types of control that will be subject to change after the introduction of this approach. In other words, the risk-based approach, when fully implemented, will not affect all areas, but only those that were identified in the decree. What are these areas? In accordance with the decree, the following types of state control and supervision will be carried out using a risk-based approach: federal state fire control, federal state sanitary and epidemiological surveillance, federal state supervision in the field of communications and federal state supervision of compliance with labor laws. However, this is not the only information contained in the decision.
Introduction of rules
What else contained the decree according to which a risk-based approach was launched for the above areas of activity? State supervision in these areas will be carried out in accordance with the rules, which were also indicated in the text of the decision. A total of 21 rules were highlighted. They should be adhered to by state bodies when conducting supervision and control in relevant fields of activity.
Risk categories and classification criteria
But the information provided by the resolution does not end there - it also defines specific risk categories, hazard classes, as well as the features of measures when one or another category of risk and danger is detected. Moreover, in the text of the resolution, criteria have been created for classifying a particular individual or legal entity into a certain category of risk and danger. As a matter of fact, the theoretical part ended on this - and in April 2016 the decision began to enter into force in stages. By the way, the process is still not finished, so it will be interesting to look at which steps have already been successfully completed, which are under implementation, and which have not even started yet and are only scheduled for a certain date in the future.
Calculation Methods
The first practical task, which began in May 2016, was the development of methods for calculating the values of indicators, which will later be used to determine the degree of danger of a particular factor and the risk itself. Please note that this process is very important and time-consuming, since, in fact, it is its results that will be the foundation for further program activities. Therefore, work on this step is still underway, although it was already begun many months ago.
Unscheduled inspections
As for this step, it was very short and quick - during it it was necessary to legislate the possibility of using this approach when conducting unscheduled inspections. This was carried out in the second quarter of 2016.
Preparation of recommendations
The next step was the preparation of detailed methodological recommendations that could be used by relevant state government bodies to introduce a risk-based approach into their activities. This step will require a lot of effort, since it implies the existence of a finished project, in accordance with which recommendations will be created. That is why the deadline for the implementation of this item is set for February 2017 - and the responsible authorities are still working on its completion.
Summing up the preliminary results
By March 2017, preliminary results of the introduction of a risk-based approach in the above state supervision bodies should be summed up. The fact is that this approach is planned to be used much more widely in the future, so now it is being implemented only in a limited number of areas, and now an assessment is being made of how effective this project is. In March 2017, the results will be summed up and, based on the results obtained, a decision will be made on how soon the list of types of supervision will be expanded, and what it will be by 2018, that is, by the time this approach is fully implemented in state supervisory authorities .
Seminars
In June 2016, the first seminar was held to exchange successful practices of the functioning of the risk-based approach in state control and supervision bodies. This step has no statute of limitations, since it should be done once every six months. It is likely that after the full implementation of the system, adjustments will be made to this item, but until 2018 these seminars will be held every six months, which will significantly improve the functionality of this project.