Operational Risk Management in Financial Services: A Practical Guide to Establishing Effective Solutions

Technology failures, data loss, issues with providers of outsourced services, misconduct and mis-selling are just some of the top risks that the financial industry faces. Operational risk management is, simply, a commercial necessity.

The management of operational risk has developed considerably since its early years. Continued regulatory focus and catastrophic industry events have led to operational risk becoming a crucial topic on any senior management team’s agenda. This book is a practical guide for practitioners which focuses on how to establish effective solutions, avoid common pitfalls and apply best practice to their organizations.

Filled with frameworks, examples and diagrams, this book offers clear advice on key practices including conducting risk assessments, assessing change initiatives and designing key risk indicators. This new edition of Operational Risk Management in Financial Services also features two new chapters reflecting on the future of operational risk management, from cyber risk to GenAI, and guides practitioners in incorporating ESG into their day-to-day strategies. This is the essential guide for professionals looking to derive value out of operational risk management, rather than applying a compliance ’tick box’ approach.

Elena Pykhova is an operational risk executive specializing in strategy, design and implementation of firm-wide operational risk frameworks, based in London, UK. She is an experienced operational risk trainer, running public and in-house training courses in the UK and internationally for world-leading venues such as the London Stock Exchange Academy. She is founder of a think tank, Best Practice Operational Risk Forum, the Chair of the Operational Risk Expert Panel for the Association of Foreign Banks and the former Director for Education at the Institute of Operational Risk.