24 Reasons to Read ISO 31000 Risk Management – Principles and Guidelines

The First Edition of ISO 31000 Risk Management – Principles and Guidelines was released on November 15 2009 and is available for download from the ISO web site. This long-awaited version has a provenance dating back to work done by the Australian Standards (AS) and New Zealand Standards (NZS) organizations, including the AS/NZS 4360 standard which ISO 31000 builds on. It precedes COSO ERM by at least a decade.

This standard is an amazing 24 pages in length and every one of them is a reason to buy the book. In my opinion, It outlines most everything you need to know to get started on implementing risk management in your organization and contains nothing you don’t need to know.

When I taught my children to ride a bike, I waited until they had sufficient physical capability and desire. I then found a gentle, grassy, slope, sat them on the bike, gave a gentle push and ran behind them for a few steps to catch them if they fell. They did not fall.  Aside from having the necessary physical capability and desire, the basic principles of riding a bike are a little forward momentum, and some balance and some coordination.  It is possible, I suppose, to write an instruction manual for riding a bike. When you think about it, riding a bike is like risk management. It looks good but it is very difficult to explain. Cycling involves a complex sequence of constantly changing, coordinated actions. You need to pedal, steer, balance and adapt constantly. An cycling instruction book could be many dozens, even hundreds of pages in length. You could study the book, you could get good training wheels, and you could practice as much as you wanted. Until you find yourself seated on a bike, facing a grassy slope, with no training wheels you won’t make any real progress.

ISO 31000 is for written those who want to get started on world-class risk management and have the desire and executive and professional capability. It is written by those who have done it before and know that you don’t learn by reading or talking. You can learn risk management with a few basic principles, some courage and desire. This is 24 pages every assurance professional must read.  WC4JNCFDEYFC.