COSO supports improved board risk oversight.

COSO highlights four critical areas that contribute to effective board oversight of enterprise risk management.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) organization provides thought leadership and guidance on internal controls, enterprise risk management, and fraud deterrence. On September 1, 2009, COSO released a new thought paper, Effective Enterprise Risk Oversight: The Role of the Board of Directors. Its purpose is to help boards of directors strengthen their oversight of enterprise risks.

"The role of the board of directors in enterprise-wide risk oversight has become increasingly challenging, especially in light of the current economic crisis," said COSO Chairman David Landsittel. "The challenge facing boards is how to effectively oversee an organization's enterprise risk management (ERM) in a way that provides improved oversight while adding value to the organization."

The four-page paper, which is available for free download on COSO's Web site, www.coso.org, calls attention to COSO's Enterprise Risk Management--Integrated Framework (2004) and its definition of ERM. In emphasizing the critical role boards of directors play in overseeing ERM, the paper points to four specific areas discussed in COSO's 2004 ERM framework that contribute to board risk...