In a world driven by financial metrics, key performance indicators are expanding to include a company's performance in managing risks, in addition to return on investment and cost of capital. CFOs are being increasingly included in the development of strategic risk management processes and solutions rather than solely on the costs involved.

Aon’s Crystal Ball, predicting how the insurance and risk industries will evolve, sees CFOs escalating their effectiveness in terms of risk management. The global insurance broker also expects to see more companies appointing Chief Risk Officers – or CROs. This role, working in partnership with the CFO, is helping to elevate risk management to the board and increase the standards of professionalism in handling the risks facing their organization. CFOs are gleaning insights from their CRO on appropriate stress test scenarios and decision making processes, in particular, around mitigating the risks around investment portfolios and factors affecting cost of capital.

However, Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey found that 62 percent of risk management functions report into a CFO or finance department so over a third of companies could be bypassing this crucial role.