The Shape of Risk: A New Look at Risk Management(Finance and Capital Markets Series)

There is much excitement occurring in the field of risk management. New approaches and ideas are being developed round the identification, measurement and management of a wide range of business and financial risks. The reader is offered insight into the world and shape of risk, as well as practical and usable information about improving the risk management environment, in each case written from the perspective of an experienced practitioner. Key themes in risk are developed in a high level of detail and in a vivid way. For readers who have many choices about risk and risk management, this book should be the first. Foreword by Charles S. Smithson

Table of Contents:
Prelude Foreword; C.Smithson Author's Preface PART 1: PRINCIPLES Risk: A Shape to be Drawn Definitions: Categories and Choices Risk Managers: Map Makers Credit Risk: A Traditional Challenge Market Risk: A New Challenge Operational Risk: Everyman Governance: Taking Action PART 2: CHALLENGES Initial Steps: Thinking, Planning and Doing Separation of Duties: The Front, Middle and Back Office People: The Silent Risk Institutional Knowledge: The Knowledge Factory New Products: Managing Innovation Measurement: The Size of Risk PART 3: APPLICATIONS Data: Particles of Risk Indicators: Messages and Signals Technology: Multiple Dimensions PROCESSES Derivatives: Trading Safely Collateral: Order and Complexity Master Agreements: The Documentation Vortex PART 4: CONCLUSION Summing Up and Looking Ahead Acknowledgements and Personal Reflections Glossary References and Further Reading Epilogue Index

About the Author :
Charles A. Fishkin is the Director of the Office of Risk Assessment for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, where he oversees the agency's risk management program. The first director of the SEC's risk unit, he has also held a variety of other roles in capital markets and finance, most recently as a risk manger for Fidelity Investments in Boston, Massachusetts. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Financial Engineers and co-chair of its Operational Risk Committee. Throughout his career, he has written and spoken extensively on risk management issues. Fishkin is originally from Nebraska, and is a graduate in economics from the University of Chicago. He and his family live in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Review :
'Mr Fishkin's new book, exploring the core concepts of risk management, is a useful work for senior management.' - Accountancy Ireland '...we bankers are truly fortunate that Charles Fishkin has had the good judgement to provide us with another fine addition to our risk management libraries. His Shape of Risk merits a place on our shelves not only because of its well-organised structure, but also because of the attention he focuses on the organizational aspects of risk management... If Cicero's contention that fortune, not wisdom, rules man's life, then it's worth the risk to buy and read this book and gain a little wisdom on the way to good fortune.' - Dev Strischek, Risk Management Association Journal