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What does a chief risk officer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read

A chief risk officer is responsible for monitoring the organization's overall operational procedures and regulatory processes to evaluate risk levels and minimize risk exposure. Chief risk officers maintain the safety and security of all the databases and ensure the confidentiality of information from unauthorized access and distribution. They also oversee the business and financial transactions regularly to identify improvement solutions that would generate revenues and resources. A chief risk officer reviews incident reports and handles recovery methods, especially for business continuity plans during national emergencies and unfortunate situations.

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Chief risk officer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real chief risk officer resumes:

  • Manage investigation and reporting of occurrences to applicable regulatory agencies when indicate and facilitate disclosure to patients and families.
  • Develop the tools and process for aggregation of product level results to the entity level for all ERM risk modeling projects.
  • Analyze and develop treasury management reports.
  • Provide oversight for regulatory and compliance directives.
  • Provide oversight of product approval and development processes.
  • Specialize in SAS data mining software and analytic intelligence platform.
  • Design and implement a centralize ERM system using Microsoft SharePoint technology.
  • Prepare compliance reports for management and research potential and actual litigation risks/cases.
  • Perform sovereign debt, equity market surveillance and securities correlation at optimization of the liquidity investment portfolio.
  • Retain outside litigation firms and coordinated/direct all corporate defense efforts, reducing allege damages by millions of dollars.
  • Represent the organization as an industry speaker at national conferences with a focus on relevant securities industry topics.
  • Founded a proprietary derivative trading firm focusing on volatility arbitrage in the commodity, treasury, and equity index option markets.
  • Conduct automated control testing for system transactions relate to PCI compliance.
  • Recommend a cloud base SaaS solution that mitigate Akorn s PCI compliance exposure.
  • Involve in performing validating automate valuation models for real-estate appraisals to support OCC requests.

Chief risk officer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 9% of Chief Risk Officers are proficient in Oversight, Risk Assessments, and Operational Risk. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Math skills, and Organizational skills.

We break down the percentage of Chief Risk Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Oversight, 9%

    Provided active administrative and coordinated risk oversight of Internal Audit function with Chief Auditor /Audit Committee.

  • Risk Assessments, 6%

    Refined safety initiatives, training, risk assessments and created operating procedures to continue culture of safety excellence.

  • Operational Risk, 6%

    Designed and implemented complete Compliance Management System, Enterprise Risk Management System, and Operational Risk Management System.

  • Human Resources, 5%

    Conduct compliance investigations, working as necessary with Information Technology and Human Resources.

  • Audit Findings, 5%

    Managed team for maximum efficiency which resulted in a 50% reduction in audit findings in first year.

  • Risk Management Framework, 4%

    Designed and implemented risk management framework for all domestically managed funds and business units and conducted firm-wide reviews of business risks.

Most chief risk officers use their skills in "oversight," "risk assessments," and "operational risk" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential chief risk officer responsibilities here:

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a chief risk officer to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "in preparing and analyzing reports, such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." Chief risk officers often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "created detailed risk register documenting system of internal controls for key business processes. "

Math skills. Another essential skill to perform chief risk officer duties is math skills. Chief risk officers responsibilities require that "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." Chief risk officers also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "realized a common, quantitative approach to opportunity and risk measurement, to generate better returns within the company risk appetite. "

Organizational skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of chief risk officers is organizational skills. This skill is critical to many everyday chief risk officer duties, as "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "develop organizational bcp policy and procedures aligned to iso 22301 / applied standards. "

Analytical skills. chief risk officer responsibilities often require "analytical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." This resume example shows what chief risk officers do with analytical skills on a typical day: "review and analysis of due diligence reports for higher risk client types to determine appropriate risk rating. "

Communication skills. Another common skill required for chief risk officer responsibilities is "communication skills." This skill comes up in the duties of chief risk officers all the time, as "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." An excerpt from a real chief risk officer resume shows how this skill is central to what a chief risk officer does: "responded to/resolved customer complaints and reviewed employee email communications. "

Most common chief risk officer skills

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Compare different chief risk officers

Chief risk officer vs. Manager finance planning and analysis

A manager finance planning and analysis oversees the daily operations of a company's financial planning department. They typically have administrative duties such as setting goals and guidelines, establishing timelines and budgets, delegating tasks among teams and staff, and reviewing financial reports regularly. They also perform research and assessments, gather and analyze financial data from different departments, coordinate staff, and solve issues and concerns when any arise. Additionally, as a manager, they must lead and empower staff to reach goals while implementing company policies and regulations.

The annual salary of managers finance planning and analysis is $10,201 lower than the average salary of chief risk officers.Even though chief risk officers and managers finance planning and analysis are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require human resources, enterprise risk management, and executive management in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between chief risk officers and manager finance planning and analysis. For instance, chief risk officer responsibilities require skills such as "oversight," "risk assessments," "operational risk," and "audit findings." Whereas a manager finance planning and analysis is skilled in "financial performance," "financial planning analysis," "customer service," and "financial models." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Managers finance planning and analysis really shine in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $109,735. Comparatively, chief risk officers tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $111,568.managers finance planning and analysis tend to reach higher levels of education than chief risk officers. In fact, managers finance planning and analysis are 5.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.0% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Chief risk officer vs. Accounts payable manager

An accounts payable manager is in charge of supervising a company's financial activities, particularly in all payable matters. Their primary responsibilities revolve around managing and assessing staff performances and overseeing check and payroll disbursements. They also take care of maintaining and securing records of employees, clients, and company finances, and implement company objectives while ensuring accuracy in all operations. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to uphold all company policies and regulations, all while leading and encouraging staff in a joint effort to accomplish goals and tasks.

Accounts payable manager positions earn lower pay than chief risk officer roles. They earn a $47,281 lower salary than chief risk officers per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both chief risk officers and accounts payable managers have skills such as "financial statements," "sox," and "internal controls. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real chief risk officer resumes. While chief risk officer responsibilities can utilize skills like "oversight," "risk assessments," "operational risk," and "human resources," accounts payable managers use skills like "customer service," "reconciliations," "purchase orders," and "vendor invoices."

On average, accounts payable managers earn a lower salary than chief risk officers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, accounts payable managers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $70,221. Whereas chief risk officers have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $111,568.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Accounts payable managers tend to reach lower levels of education than chief risk officers. In fact, they're 10.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Chief risk officer vs. Accounting manager

An accounting manager is responsible for supervising and monitoring the overall accounting department operations. Duties of an accounting manager include reviewing account information and account statements, processing invoices, analyzing financial data, performing account reconciliations, assisting with tax processing and audit reports, and generating financial reports for presentation with the board. An accounting manager must have excellent knowledge of the accounting principles and legislation to assist the team with the company's financial goals. Accounting managers must have the outstanding analytical, critical thinking, and decision-making skills to develop the best competitive financial strategies.

On average, accounting managers earn lower salaries than chief risk officers, with a $32,638 difference per year.By looking over several chief risk officers and accounting managers resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "human resources," "treasury," and "financial statements." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a chief risk officer is likely to be skilled in "oversight," "risk assessments," "operational risk," and "audit findings," while a typical accounting manager is skilled in "reconciliations," "cpa," "customer service," and "payroll processing."

Accounting managers earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $99,773. Comparatively, chief risk officers have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $111,568.When it comes to education, accounting managers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to chief risk officers. In fact, they're 6.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Chief risk officer vs. Accounts receivable manager

An accounts receivable manager is responsible for overseeing the financial matters in a business or company, focusing on the generated sales and income. Moreover, they are also responsible for maintaining an accurate and efficient collection of payments, conducting research and analysis, and supervising the workforce, striving to meet all the goals within the allotted time. As a manager in the department, it is also vital to lead fellow skilled professionals and implement the policies and regulations of the company or organization.

Accounts receivable managers tend to earn a lower pay than chief risk officers by an average of $47,686 per year.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between chief risk officers and accounts receivable managers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a chief risk officer might have more use for skills like "oversight," "risk assessments," "operational risk," and "human resources." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of accounts receivable managers require skills like "customer service," "accounts receivables," "financial reports," and "reconciliations. "

The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for accounts receivable managers, with average annual pay of $83,928. Comparatively, the highest chief risk officer annual salary comes from the finance industry.accounts receivable managers reach lower levels of education compared to chief risk officers, in general. The difference is that they're 11.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 2.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of chief risk officer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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