Risk Analyst

Overview

Who is Risk Analyst?

Risk analysts allow the company to make informed decisions by providing estimates about the potential risk factors and suggest measures to prevent or counter such risks. These individuals apply their financial expertise to monitor regulatory changes and market trends closely so as to understand its impact on the business and thereby prescribe recommendations to safeguard the organization from the same. They provide estimates of potential losses and devise risk mitigation strategies that the organization could incur by identifying and analyzing potential risks that can affect the business status and revenue. There are four major categories for specialization in this field, namely, Credit risk analysts who focus on risks related to lending capital; market risk analysts who are involved in assessing the risks associated with the economy and the market; and operational risk analysts who focus on the risks posed by the organizations business operations and its employees; and regulatory risk analysts who focus on the risks related to the impact of legislative changes on the organization.

Typical day at work

What does Risk Analyst do?

A risk analyst is someone who identifies, assesses, and monitors the amount of risk that the organization is exposed to by evaluating financial documents, economic conditions, and potential clients. Risk analyst typically works for banks and insurance companies, though any company handling large amounts of money may choose to hire them.

1. Review the company’s financial documents 
2. Keep track of all regulatory or market changes, compliance requirements and industry-related developments
3. Analyse financial documents in relation to the market and economic changes to identify and assess potential risk factors
4. Predict future trends by analysing the current developments in the field
5. Aggregate financial data from multiple reliable sources to evaluate the potential outcomes and concerns of the prospective business decisions
6. Develop risk management strategies to guide business decisions
7. Communicate the risk management plans and potential risk factors to the senior executives 
8. Devise contingency plans for the events of emergency 
9. Evaluate the effectiveness of risk management strategies that have been implemented
10. Make necessary modifications to the risk mitigation procedures
11. Generate reports, summaries, and presentations to document the potential risks and mitigation procedures

Abilities & aptitude needed

What are the skills, abilities & aptitude needed to become Risk Analyst?

Risk analysts should have extensive knowledge about risk management processes in the financial sector and the applicable regulatory policies. They need to be highly detail-oriented in order to extract patterns and trends in the financial data to guide business decisions. They should be able to process massive amounts of financial data and synthesize it into concise meaningful reports for the management or the upper executives of the organization which necessitates excellent critical thinking and data analysis abilities. They should be knowledgeable about the current economic and market trends as well as the legislative changes applicable to the company at all times. They should be self-disciplined and able to work independently as well as in collaboration with a diverse team of professionals. Their communication skills are also important in order to convey complex financial information and its meaningful analysis effectively to the senior executives of the company as well as to liaise with their team. Strong mathematical skills and a working knowledge of the relevant statistical tools and software is crucial for risk analysts for accurate and reliable data analysis. They should be goal-oriented with a solution-focused approach and be skilled at complex problem-solving and project management to excel in this role.

Courses

Which course I can pursue?