...Management Fall 2009 Non-financial risk assessment in mergers, acquisitions and investments Identifying sources of business risk in the ICT industry Bachelors thesis Erik Allenstr¨m, 1984-11-26 o Fredrik Njurell, 1984-01-30 ¨ Tutor: Osten Ohlsson January 14, 2010 Abstract The number of company mergers and acquisition activities has increased dramatically the last two decades. The reasons for conducting these activities are many and the uncertainties of their results are high. To reduce the uncertainties when making an investment, merger or acquisition it is vital to do a thorough assessment of the risks involved with the activity. This thesis focuses on a specific part of this risk assessment, namely the non-financial risks. Mergers and acquisitions are done in almost all industries around the world and the reasons for and benefits of these activities can vary between industries. We have chosen to investigate the risk assessment of non-financial risks in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry. The thesis aims at investigating what business characteristics, for companies in the ICT industry, that give rise to non-financial risks that must be assessed when doing investments, mergers or acquisitions. Further on we present a risk pattern that points out what business characteristics that are the most important when conducting a risk assessment of non-financial risks on companies in the ICT industry. From a literature study we find evidence that ten different...
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...Running head: PURCHASING A HOUSE RISK PAPER Purchasing a House Risk Paper Keller Graduate School of Management Project Risk Management PROJ 595 Dr. Susan Orr August 04, 2013 Purchasing a House Risk Paper INTRODUCTION The many advantages to owning a home have been well publicized. However, the above satistics make it clear that owning a home is not without risk. To form a complete picture, you, the prospective buyer, need to consider the potential risks and disadvantages of home ownership as well. Understanding these disadvantages beforehand will give you a better chance of minimizing their impact and avoiding the fate suffered by these homeowners. RISKS IDENTIFICATION There are many risks in buying a new house such as: • The opportunity cost of investing in an alternative investment is very high because the entire cash and future income stream is tied up into one asset a home, which may or may not appreciate. • The house is an undiversified investment, so if the market tanks as it has, game over. • Knowing that we do not own our home, the bank does. • A lot of cost connected to home ownership, such as repairs and insurance and fees and potential hazards I have not considered. • If I lose my job, game over, this will put a lot of stress on me. • There is a chance that your new home will lose value. Luckily, in general, the longer you own your home, the less likely a loss becomes. Loss of value is typically a short-term problem, possibly due to the local...
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...Risk Management Overview February 21, 2011 FIN/415 Risk Management Overview Paper Risk management is a systematic process of managing the exposure of the organization to a variety of risks. This process has become increasingly important for the success of any organization in current competitive markets. The successful identification of threats and opportunities is crucial in risk management as it allows to create the processes and procedures allowing the company to maximize opportunities and minimize threats. Many organizations treat risk management seriously and create separate department responsible solely for risk management. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line incorporated risk management department into its structure. This step allowed this organization to improve the risk assessment procedures and introduce the necessary processes to minimize the impact of threats. The organizational risk relates to the organizational governance, operations, and information systems. The organizational risk management “provides assurance for reliable and accurate financial and operational information and reporting, effectiveness and efficiency of operations, and safeguarding of assets, as well as compliance with regulations, contracts, and the organization’s code of ethics” (Aghili, 2010, p. 23). Organizational risk management treats the relates to the organization as one entity and...
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...management take quick and appropriate action as soon as there are any signs that a problem may exist? Management fosters and encourages an agency culture that emphasizes the importance of integrity and ethical values. This may be achieved through oral communications in meetings, via one-on-one discussions, and by example in day-to-day activities? Are there formal job descriptions or other means of identifying and defining specific tasks required for job positions established and up-to-date? Phase II-Assessment Risk Assessment N/A YES NO Comments Does management provide a sound basis for setting realistic and achievable goals and does not pressure employees to meet unrealistic ones? Are formal unit-wide mission or value statements established and communicated throughout the organization? Are employees at all levels represented in establishing objectives? Are risk management program in place to monitor and help reduce exposures? Are measures in place to identify and react to technological changes in the functional requirements of the organization? Does management promote continuous improvement and solicit input and feedback on significant changes? Phase III-Testing Control Activities N/A YES NO Comments Are employees aware of what kind of behavior is...
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...large emphasis on financial risk assessments. The risk assessment process is needed to identify risks that need to be treated within an organization, as well as to provide strategies and methods that are most appropriate to treat these risks. Because many organizations are poorly aligned between their risk exposure and their risk appetite, it is important to engage in the risk assessment procedures. These procedures can help an organization prevent risk exposure and determine if their current operations will result in an increase or decrease of market value and owners’ wealth. As a result of the economic crisis, and the recent increase in corporate failures, organizations can now learn from the mistakes of others. This paper will discuss the mistakes that lead WorldCom, a telecom company that was once the fourth-ranked in Fortune 500, to bankruptcy in 2002, in an effort to demonstrate the importance of successful risk assessment and alignment implementation. Keywords: corporate failure, risk analysis, risk assessment, risk management, WorldCom Over the past years, and as a result of high profile firm failures, the economic crisis, and increased regulatory pressure, many organizations have placed a large emphasis on financial risk assessments. Risk assessment is the process where risk managers analyze the risks of an organization and identify risks that need to be treated (Tarantino & Cernauskas, 2011, p.47). In addition, a risk assessment provides strategies and...
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...A class website will be established and maintained throughout the course on Blackboard (go to http://www.unt.edu/ and click the link at the top for “Blackboard”). Course materials such as notes will be available on Blackboard. You are responsible for anything that I note through Blackboard emails and announcements. Course Description: Introduction to auditing and the professional responsibilities of a career in any specialty of the accounting profession. Topics include the legal and ethical responsibilities of accountants; professional auditing standards; the audit risk model; the acquisition, evaluation and documentation of audit evidence; reports on the results of the audit engagement. Learning Objectives: When you complete this course, you should: Understand the audit process, including audit procedures, and audit reports Understand the professional responsibilities of CPAs Understand audit risk assessments and planning Be able to research auditing standards Be able to identify fraud red flags Methods of Instruction: Lecture, discussion, and application. Course...
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...for a maximum benefit with the least amount of risk. Senior management must ensure that all risks have been taken into consideration along with the benefits to the CU and its members, and that the risks and returns are acceptable. Careful consideration must be given to the potential risks of these relationships and how best to manage them in specific regard to the amount of control given to the vendor vs. related risks in a given situation. The length of time ___FCU has worked with a vendor will directly influence the components and depth with which a relationships in which our expectations have been met. Critical Vendor The Board has defined a “Critical Vendor” as a vendor that provides a unique service of high importance to ___FCU that cannot be easily replaced in the event the vendor is no longer able to perform. Planning and Assessment ___FCU will use the Service Provider spreadsheet to document all risk assessments. Critical vendors: There must be planning and an initial risk assessment prior to entering into any new critical vendor relationship. Multiple vendors (at least 2) must be considered. Senior management should review all the information in detail before making its final choice. The initial review should take into consideration at a minimum as applicable, the following risks areas: credit, interest rate, liquidity, transaction, compliance, strategic, and reputation, with the main focus being the risk to membership...
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...Risk Management Assessment Survey Prairie Lakes Hospital serves the northeastern area of South Dakota. Prairie Lakes measure the progress made by accounting for all goals meet and adding additional goals for each care management initiative. This focus will improve the quality of health care provided to clients. At one time risk management meant the management of any potential claims from potential malpractice, workers’ compensation, casualty, and property losses. This basically includes protection and prevention of accidents in any organization (MHHS, 2011). Currently risk management must take on a more global definition that includes the enterprise of financial management (McGuire, 1995). Prairie Lakes Hospital has taken steps to prevent losses by predicting potential problems and creating an action plan and teams of individuals to track any changes in a given area. Risk managements purpose in health care is to protect patient safety, quality of services, staff and visitor protection, financial losses, risk detection and prevention (MHHS, 2011). Prevention of financial losses can be found done by evaluation of the hospitals finances on a regular basis. Overall risk management protects the organization’s assets and continually identifies and addresses the sources of all risks and losses of an organization. Risk management’s goal is to protect the assets of an organization and work to identify and fix all areas and sources of risk. In the case of Prairie Lakes Hospital...
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...AC572 You Decide Jan. 24, 2011 When evaluating this case using the three elements of the fraud triangle I have concluded that the potential pressures for Chris to commit fraud are greater than for others. The pressure is from Chris himself because he wants what others have or what he doesn’t have. This is due to the fact that Chris is young and impressionable may feel as though he doesn’t make enough money to obtain the material possession he desires or see others with. He may also be of the mindset that “he wants it now” it being the latest technology. This younger generation seems to feel entitlement instead of working and earn it. This may be due to their upbringing. Although my generation had things we worked for them and with our parents/families help we were able to obtain those things we wanted. We live in a technology savvy society so if you don’t have the last gadget then you may be looked upon as not having the means to acquire these things or not technologically savvy enough to want or have these items. Having the latest gadgets is a societal status symbol, the more you have…. the more you have meaning money. Chris may have friends that have the latest and greatest technology and he maybe envious of them and desire to acquire those things as well but not on his salary in his mind. So he must find a way to get either more money or a way to acquire the latest and the greatest in technology. The potential opportunities for Chris to commit fraud are great...
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...RISK PM595 Initial information used in phase 1 of the assessment process is based on project documents and the request for tender itself. Information for Phase 2 is derived from individual tenderer’s response. In phase 1, an appropriate system or element structure for examining the tender is developed and semi-quantitative approach is used to assess the likelihood of risks arising in each element and their consequences and then derive a baseline priority for each element and the project. In phase 2, the evaluation is modified according to the detailed approach each tenderer intends to adopt, and that tenderer’s capabilities. According to the text book some of the objectives of the risk assessment in tender evaluation are to provide an initial indication of where the major risks might arise in the project, prior to receipt or detailed examination of tender responses, based on a set of credible assumptions about how the project might be conducted. It also develops a risk baseline against which individual tender responses can be compared. It assist the project team to focus on potential risk areas, it provides a risk profile for each tender offer submitted and provides a documented audit trail. In Phase 1 a baseline is established against which tenders can be assessed before bids are received. In Phase 2 each submitted tender offer is compared with the baseline to develop a comparative risk assessment for each one. In phase 1 the structured and documented risk assessments...
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...software and other programs that end users interact with? Application Question 3 Identify the configuration that is best for networks with varying security levels, such as general users, a group of users working on a secret research project, and a group of executives. Multilayered firewall Question 4 Identify a security objective that binds a message or data to a specific entity and adds value to relationships between businesses. digital signature Question 5 A(n) ________ addresses gaps or weaknesses in controls that could otherwise lead to an exploit. safeguard Question 6 A _________ can be a situation or method that might accidentally trigger a vulnerability. threat source Question 7 What does risk management directly affect? Security controls Question 8 Identify the primary advantage of IPv6 over IPv4. Larger address space Question 9 Which of the following is a weakness of WLANs? SSID beaconing Question 10 Identify the configuration that is best for hosting a public Web site or your own e-mail server, for which you need to allow inbound connections on a limited basis. Screened subnet firewall Question 11 Identify a security principle that can be satisfied with an asymmetric digital signature and not by a symmetric signature. Nonrepudiation Question 12 Which of the following is a cipher that shifts each letter in the English alphabet a fixed number of positions, with Z wrapping back...
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...of having guilty feelings and am definitely not obsessive over my own concerns. In fact, I always own up to my responsibilities and/or any mess ups either at work or at home. I have not been in a role of a manager yet have supervised a number of interns and I have never been threatened by or with any responsibilities pushed upon me. In fact, I almost always took same on with confidence and a sense of dedication. I do agree with the assessment that at times I may not give myself full credit where I completely deserve it; I have attributed this more to humility than to insecurity. Although I am not hard on myself for mistakes and misjudgments I do, however, tend to dwell on things far longer than necessary. For example, if during a presentation I stumbled in answering a question I would live with the embarrassment of same for weeks and in fact avoid the person who posed the question. The measure of conventionality perhaps may be a more in line with my thinking; however, I completely disagree with the conformity assessment. I do assess risk probably more staunchly than others yet I do not restrict myself in doing tasks “the way they have always been done” if that way does not seem to be working. I do take...
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...Support positive risk taking in everyday life Explain ways in which risk is an integral part of everyday life, Risk for most people is an accepted part of everyday life e.g. catching a bus or walking to the shop etc... will carry some element of risk. Risk is associated with our health, safety, security, well being, employment, education, daily activities, using resources and equipment and community participation. Some adults such as those who are disabled or who are older are usually discouraged from taking risks with their budgeting, planning, employment and their daily living skills usually because people fear for their limitations or that they might hurt themselves or others. Everyone has the right to take risks and make decisions about their own lives, a balance should be found between service users participation in everyday activities and the carers duty of care. Social care and health policies are encouraging residents to increase their independence by being involved in the wider society such as leisure and work. It should be noted that it is impossible to eliminate risk completely, however minimising and being prepared for risk by preventative action. Supporting people to live independently by taking part of their lives means accepting that there are risks that cant be avoided but can be prepared for. Explain why individuals may have been discouraged or prevented from taking risks, For some services, approaches to risk have been a problem because they have...
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...Chapter 1 1. In which of the IT domains is a database considered a major component of risk? LAN domain 2. What are the risk management techniques? Avoidance, Transfer, Mitigation, Acceptance, 3. A CBA is an effort to Cost and benefit. 4. True or false: Programming bugs is a technique for mitigating vulnerabilities. 5. True or false: Intrusion detection is a technique for mitigating vulnerabilities. 6. True or false: Incident response is a technique for mitigating vulnerabilities. 7. True or false: Continuous monitoring is a technique for mitigating vulnerabilities. 8. A DoS attack is a threat action affecting which IT domain? Wan Domain Chapter 3 9. True or false: HIPAA applies to Federal agencies. 10. True or false: HIPAA applies to health insurance companies. 11. True or false: HIPAA applies to publicly-traded companies. 12. True or false: HIPAA applies to educational institutions. 13. True or false: FERPA applies to Federal agencies. 14. True or false: FERPA applies to health insurance companies. 15. True or false: FERPA applies to publicly-traded companies. 16. True or false: FERPA applies to educational institutions. 17. Which standard contains eight principles specific to security? 18. Which standard gives detailed descriptions of IT practices and comprehensive checklists, tasks, and procedures that can be tailored by IT organizations to fit their needs? ITIL 19. Which agency enforces the SOX...
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...Enterprise Risk Management The Non-Linear Pro salesman told the manager of Quick Takes Video that the editing system leased would allow the employees to edit material twice as fast after only a day and a half of set up and training. After all employees received the one-day training course, completed the video tutorial, and read the manual, problems with the equipment stopped production of a Quick Takes Video project. During an attempt to insert a CD, an employee cut her finger on a sharp edge of the poorly designed equipment. Two different types of torts arose in the Product Liability Video. One type, an intentional tort occurred as a result of the implied warrantee when the salesman described the benefits of the editing system. The employee’s cut finger could result in an unintentional tort because the manufacturer has the requirement of selling a safe product but did not intend to harm the employee. The main tort violation from the video involves the implied warrantee given by the Non-Linear Pro salesman. The manager of Quick Takes Video perceived the quote taken from the video Cheeseman (2010), “Any of your editors, if they’re computer savvy, they’re going to pick this up in a day, day and a half tops” (video, 02:79), as an expressed warrantee. This perception persuaded the manager to lease the equipment. Team A used enterprise risk management (ERM) to analyze the business risk associated with the violation (Harb, 2008). Adequate Compliance Standards and Procedures...
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