GRA 6545 Enterprise Risk Management

GRA 6545 Enterprise Risk Management

Course code: 
GRA 6545
Department: 
Finance
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Yifan Zhu
Course name in Norwegian: 
Enterprise Risk Management
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Finance
Semester: 
2025 Spring
Active status: 
Active
Level of study: 
Master
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

The recent global financial crisis and corporate risk failures created the need for more efficient management of risk and questioned the traditional risk management practices. Moreover, the increases in the frequency and severity of disasters due to climate change become an impending threat to financial stability. One approach that has been gaining popularity is the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) that enables companies to establish businesses that are more sustainable against external and internal risks as well as changes to the economic environment. ERM is based on the idea that risk management is a strategic and organization-wide issue and that careful identification and assessment of all the important risks, as well as a portfolio approach to risk, are vital for protecting and maximizing value.

In this course, we will combine the analytical-theoretical approach to corporate value maximization with the practical knowledge and experience gained from risk failures and successes, on which the ERM approach is based, and quantitative risk analytics. The course structure reflects the fact that risk management is viewed as both an art and a science.

A third and important component of the course is derivatives, that provide two important elements for utilizing ERM: (i) a significant set of tools for managing financial and other risks and (ii) the pricing of contingent claims which provides a way to perform a cost-benefit analysis for maximizing organizational value.

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

By the end of the course the students should know:

  • the various ways in which enterprise risk management (ERM) can add value to a corporation, whether operating internationally or locally
  • the instruments and the strategies used to manage risks
  • the economic transmission channels through which climate risk manifests as company-level risks
Learning outcomes - Skills

By the end of the course the students should be able to:

  • perform both qualitative and quantitative risk analysis for a firm
  • price derivative securities and evaluate non-linear cash flows of a firm
  • examine how climate risk drivers can be incorporated into existing ERM frameworks
General Competence

The students by the end of the course should be able to

  • use the theory and concepts and apply the quantitative and digital tools to design and implement a risk management strategy for a firm
Course content

The course will cover a large spectrum of topics that are necessary for the design and implementation of an analytical framework of ERM:

  • History, framework and implementation of ERM
  • Lessons from risk failures and risk management successes
  • Risk analytics and risk management strategies
  • Overview of derivatives markets
  • Pricing of and hedging with derivatives
  • Valuing non-linear contingent cash-flows
  • Managing risk with and without financial friction
  • Risk capital and risk-adjusted performance
Teaching and learning activities

The course will include plenary lectures where the theories, concepts and methodologies will be presented. There will be in-class examples, cases and discussions focused on applying the theories and methods. Practice problems with solutions will be uploaded on the course website on itslearning periodically.

Software tools
R
R/R-Studio
Additional information

The exam for this course has been changed starting academic year 2023/2024. The course now has two ordinary exams. It is not possible to retake the old version of the exam. For questions regarding previous results, please contact InfoHub.

It is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

Honour Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honour code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honour code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed. Any violation of the honour code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honour code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honour code, please ask.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Disclaimer

Deviations in teaching and exams may occur if external conditions or unforeseen events call for this.

Assessments
Assessments
Exam category: 
School Exam
Form of assessment: 
Written School Exam - pen and paper
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
30
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
1 Hour(s)
Comment: 
Mid-term written exam
Exam code: 
GRA 65452
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Exam category: 
School Exam
Form of assessment: 
Written School Exam - pen and paper
Exam/hand-in semester: 
First Semester
Weight: 
70
Grouping: 
Individual
Support materials: 
  • BI-approved exam calculator
  • Simple calculator
  • Bilingual dictionary
Duration: 
3 Hour(s)
Exam code: 
GRA 65453
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Resit: 
Examination when next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Ordinary examination
All exams must be passed to get a grade in this course.
Total weight: 
100
Student workload
ActivityDurationComment
Teaching
36 Hour(s)
Prepare for teaching
60 Hour(s)
Student's own work with learning resources
60 Hour(s)
Examination
4 Hour(s)
Sum workload: 
160

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.