An analysis of the effect of enterprise risk management maturity on shareholder value during the economic downturn of 2008-2010

Abstract

This research studies the effect of enterprise risk management (ERM) on financial indicators that effect the shareholder value of Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed companies during the economic downturn of 2008 – 2010.Enterprise risk management is the organisational process of identifying risks that affect the company’s ability to achieve its objectives; the financial indicators that effect shareholder value include the publicly traded share price, the dividends paid out to shareholders, the volatility of the share price, earnings and the price to earnings (P/E) ratio of the organisation.The research data was gathered utilising an enterprise risk management maturity survey and publicly available company financial data.The data was analysed for correlations between the ERM principles and the financial data; the outcome shows that a correlation exists between a single ERM principle (risk architecture) and Shareholder value when an economic downturn occurs.This indicates that the structure of an organisation’s enterprise risk management process is the best indicator of shareholder value protection when and economic downturn occurs, and is more significant than the way an organisation executes its risk strategy or manages its risk protocols.