Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise vacation company in the world, takes an all-hands-on-deck view of governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management. Here’s an in-depth look into the process by which the company built its GRC platform.

Stakeholders, regulators, and executives in the financial services industry need more reliable risk information. To produce this, the key adaptation financial services companies (as well as other companies with insufficient GRC capabilities) will have to make is in their management of highly fluid processes -- the extent to which organizations can "lock down" these processes with effective controls, and then convey that to regulators and stakeholders.

New case studies are providing insight on the conversion to IFRS. The large accounting firms (those with the most SEC registrants) are a good source for IFRS information; not only do they possess the expertise, but also they have a potentially huge financial stake in the conversion, as IFRS compliance will likely prove complex, time-consuming, and profitable (or costly, depending on where you sit).

The volatile economy is boosting the rigor that the internal audit function applies to GRC activities. The impact is evident in "a real shift" in the internal auditor's view of risk and "how it's managed compared to years past," according to Bob Hirth, executive vice president of global internal audit at Protiviti.

The financial crisis, which is ushering in a brand-new era of regulation, is causing many small public companies to consider if they should "go dark."

Last week, MoveOn.org, a political action committee, sent an email to more than 3 million members urging them to mobilize to oust Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis. How could tactics like this affect companies' approach to accountability and corporate governance?

Regulatory shifts loom on the horizon, yet GRC executives are starting to be confronted with a more immediate change: the behavior of their directors. Associations and consultants who represent and serve corporate directors are not waiting to see how the new regulatory regime ultimately shakes out. Instead, these experts have been busy working with directors to help them expand their own governance, risk, and compliance management awareness and activities.

Everybody complains about the weather -- but, now, more companies are doing something about it. "Weather risk management will protect the bottom line," says Weather Risk Management Association President Martin Malinow. "A large percentage of the world economy feels the financial impact of Mother Nature and can now respond proactively by using weather risk management tools."

A look at how leading GRC programs are strengthening strategic decision-making in the best and worst of times. Plus, exclusive findings from our 2009 GRC Maturity Study.

Reputation risk management is on the rise, according to the Conference Board. Why is it rising? There are several reasons, including the development of methodologies that quantify the value of reputation and the growing impact of social media (and the continued failure of most companies to address this impact).

The 6th Annual BPM Summit, Generating Value Through Visibility, brought together some of the business world's foremost practitioners to explore the transformational role of finance in the enterprise. If you missed the live event, you can still enjoy unlimited access to the audio and slide shows from the keynote speaker presentations at our on-demand archive.