Risk Management

As a global engineering and contracting group, risk is an inherent feature of our business. The global economy continues to experience periods of uncertainty driven by various factors ranging from the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, climate change and supply chain disruption to rising inflation. In FY2022, the Group continued to trade under these challenging and dynamic conditions. Our market sector, geographic and project life cycle diversification, and diligent risk management have been instrumental in mitigating the impact of some of the risks we face.

Established by the Board, our enterprise-wide risk management framework guides us in mitigating threats to our business and exploiting business opportunities. The Board approves the Group’s risk appetite and risk tolerance, and monitors risk exposures which are regularly reviewed and updated. It has established clear governance structures for managing risk and opportunities across the organisation, thereby ensuring that it receives appropriate attention. The Board is supported by the risk and audit committees whose mandates include periodic reviews, guidance and objective challenge to management, and independent verification that risks and internal controls are effectively managed.

During the year, sustainable development continued to feature prominently on the global agenda with many stakeholders calling for visible action on environment, social and governance issues. We continued to align our business priorities with these developments, with an increased focus on ESG in our risk reviews and improvement actions. The ultimate custodianship of ESG lies with the Board which receives regular updates from management on ESG risks, opportunities, and performance.

The Group follows an integrated assurance approach in verifying that risks are effectively managed. Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Independent Assurance (internal and external audits) are the three pillars of the Group integrated assurance framework, which aims to:

  • Align strategy with risk tolerance;
  • Improve and streamline decision-making, which improves the Group’s risk profile;
  • Promote the strategic and coordinated procurement of a quality order book, which contains a known and planned level of risk and an appropriate level of reward;
  • Ensure reasonable commercial terms and conditions are contracted based on a predetermined set of acceptable contracting principles, together with the rational pursuit of commercial entitlement;
  • Promote rigorous project reviews, and early responses to projects deviating from planned and tendered expectations;
  • Promote continuous improvement through the institutionalisation and application of lessons learnt;
  • Reduce operational surprises, improve predictability and build shareholder confidence;
  • Build robust organisational risk structures and facilitate timeous interventions, to promote long-term sustainable growth; and
  • Promote the efficient and proactive pursuit of opportunities.

View our annual integrated report for more information on risk management.