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RIMS ERM Conference 2021: IRS Receives Global Enterprise Risk Management Award of Distinction

On Friday, RIMS President Ellen Dunkin presented the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with the 2021 Global Enterprise Risk Management Award of Distinction at the Society’s ERM Conference in New York City. The honor recognized the IRS’s outstanding achievements that allow it to anticipate emerging risks and establish the appropriate culture, processes and structures to strengthen strategic decision-making. 

Navigating the impacts of an extended government shutdown, sweeping tax reforms, operational disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and providing essential financial relief to thousands of businesses and individuals across the United States, the IRS ERM program helped the agency to remain resilient and effectively manage a multitude of dynamic challenges.

“Through the ERM program’s focus on embedding risk management capabilities into the existing structures and operations, the agency has become more risk aware,” said Jeffrey Tribiano, the IRS’s deputy commissioner for operations support. “There is also greater collaboration across the enterprise to address significant risks that require efforts from multiple business units. By effectively highlighting the enterprise-wide effects of risks, and by capturing risks on the enterprise risk profile, ERM has helped garner agency-wide attention and support for measures to help address the risks. Since IRS established its ERM program in 2014, it has played a critical role in helping the agency to better understand and respond to risk, thus making the organization more resilient and better able to serve the American people.” 

This year, RIMS honored three other organizations for their exceptional accomplishments developing, implementing and maturing ERM within their organizations. Honorees included:

  • 2021 RIMS Global ERM Award of Distinction Honorable Mention: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
  • 2021 RIMS ERM Award of Distinction–U.S. Honoree: Eversource Energy
  • 2021 RIMS ERM Award of Distinction–International Honoree: EuroChem

“Enterprise risk management continues to deliver exceptional value to organizations, allowing them to successfully address emerging risks while also identifying and leveraging opportunities that might not have otherwise been apparent,” Dunkin said. “Risk professionals get better—and deliver better results—by learning from each other. We are so grateful to the IRS and all of honorees for sharing their ERM journeys with the RIMS community and doing their part to advance this rewarding profession.” 

Judging criteria for the Global ERM Award of Distinction include measurable, tangible and sustainable results; unique program strengths; ERM innovation that links risk with strategy or performance; and the program’s ability to build sustaining risk management capabilities. The panel comprises members of RIMS Strategic and Enterprise Risk Management Council.

RIMS ERM Conference 2021 was held November 11-12 in New York City and virtually. The program themed “ERM in an ESG World” focused on the growing risks stemming from environmental, social and governance challenges.

The Best and Worst States for Business, According to CEOs

For CEOs, who naturally favor “pro-growth,” low-tax states, southern states present an undeniable bastion for business, according to Chief Executive magazine’s 2015 “Best and Worst States for Business” survey.

In this year’s survey, Texas remained the best state for business for the 11th year in row, followed by Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Since the recession began in December 2007, 1.2 million net jobs have been created in Texas, while 700,000 net jobs were created in the other 49 states combined, the magazine reported. This job creation contributed toward unemployment rates 1% lower than the national average, an advantage rounded out by extremely favorable taxation and regulation, strong workforce quality, and very good marks for living environment.

Despite notably low unemployment, two of the greatest hubs for business drew particularly unfavorable marks from CEOs: California ranked last in the survey, preceded by New York. Illinois, New Jersey and Massachusetts completed the bottom five. CEOs gave these states the lowest ratings because of their high tax rates and regulatory environments. One CEO told the magazine, “The good states ask what they can do for you; the bad states ask what they can get from you.”

Compared to the 2014 rankings, Idaho has made the largest improvement, rising 10 spots to number 18, primarily due to high growth rates in GDP, while South Dakota dropped eight places, “even though quality-of-life attractions enhance the state’s low-tax bona fides,” the magazine reported.

Check out the full rankings below:

Best States for Business rankings