ACC

ACC321

PWC Risk Assessment Assignment

Summer, 2018

Due in class on June 22, 2017

Make sure that you read pages 1-12 and page 19 of “A Practical Guide to Risk Assessment” PWC, 2008 which is posted under “Readings” on D2L. The following two questions relate to that assigned reading:

1. The PWC guide does a good job of outlining the various levels of an organization to which risk assessment can be applied on pages 9-12. Choose a company with which you are familiar. The company could be publicly traded or a small or large private business.

Discuss three (3) of the levels of risk assessment as they could be applied to your company.

For example, I choose Home Depot:

1. Operational risk assessment: Home Depot faces the risk that their employees are not adequately trained to meet the needs of its customers.

2. Supply chain risk assessment: Home Depot faces the risk that the quality of the products offered by any supplier declines.

3. Customer risk assessment: Home Depot faces the risk of another housing downturn that places financial stress on homebuilders and lowering overall sales.

2. Page 19 of the guide discusses the importance of key performance indicators (KPIs) as leading indicators of changes in risk. For each of the three risks that you have described above, describe one KPI that might be useful to give your company the heads up relating to increased risk.

For example:

1. Measure customer complaints (or satisfaction) regarding the performance of store staff.

2. Measure defects - possibly through product returns.

3. Monitor housing start data collected at the country-wide and local levels.

3. Choose one of the five “megatrends” described in the PWC white paper entitled “Five Megatrends and Possible Implications” (2013). This document can also be found under “Readings” on D2L. In a couple of sentences, explain how the chosen “megatrend” offers risk and opportunity to your company.

For example:

I choose #3 “Accelerating Urbanization”. Currently, Home Depot relies heavily on homeowners and homebuilders as its customer base in the US. This customer base may be disappearing as younger generations move to cities and shun home ownership. However, the company is presented with an opportunity to re-focus its product lines away from plumbing and electrical supplies towards the types of products that renters buy, such as paint and appliances.

BE SURE THAT YOUR ANSWERS ARE YOUR OWN AND DO NOT CLOSELY RESEMBLE THOSE OF YOUR CLASSMATES.

DO NOT RESTATE THE QUESTIONS. JUST HAND IN A HARD COPY WITH YOUR NUMBERED ANSWERS.

If you do not do this, you will lose points.

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