Abstract:
Risk management is a fairly new concept for organisations world-wide, both in the private and the public
sectors. With the evolution of corporate governance in general and specifically risk management, formalised
risk management frameworks have been recognised by many as an effective tool in assisting management
with their responsibilities. In South Africa, this is supported by the fact that risk management is included in the
leading corporate governance codes and in legislation, such as the Public Finance Management Act, No 1 of
1999 and the King Report on Governance, 2009. However, the question remains as to how comprehensive an
organisation’s risk management strategy should be. This article explores the concept of assessing risk
maturity by using a risk maturity scorecard. After an existing risk maturity model was adjusted for the South
African corporate governance environment, a scorecard was developed that was used to determine the risk
maturity level of certain organisations within the South African private and public sectors. Results indicate that
organisations within the private sector are mostly risk mature, while public sector organisations are lacking
many elements within their risk management frameworks and no risk mature respondent could be found in this
sector. Secondly, the article indicates that management’s commitment to risk management could be the one
main concern that should be addressed to ensure an effective risk management strategy.
