Financial risk and performance of small and medium enterprises in Nigeria

Risk management is one of the prominent issues which are pivotal to the success of a business and may adversely affect profitability if not properly practised. Therefore, the main objective of this paper was to determine risk management practices in manufacturing SMEs in Cape Town. The research conducted was quantitative in nature and constituted the collection of data from 74 SME leaders, all of whom had to adhere to a list of strict delineation criteria. All data collected were thoroughly analyzed through means of descriptive statistics. From the findings made, it is clear that SMEs in the manufacturing sector do in fact understand risk management initiatives applicable to ‘manage’ their respective businesses towards sustainability, but not to a large extent. It was found that respondents are unaware of the elements which make risk management effective, which ultimately aids to the development of problems for SMEs. All employees, managers and owners must coordinate their efforts together to identify and manage organizational risks within their ambit to obtain total risk coverage, as well as provide assurance that these risks are effectively managed from a coordinated approach. Further studies may be carried out to identify measures that can be taken to improve the effectiveness of risk management practices in SMEs.

This paper aims to discuss the concepts and methodological issues of enterprise risk management (ERM). The case study of company A shows that ERM has been implemented and integrated with management control as a means of monitoring its subsidiaries. First, ERM system was implemented through comprehensive review of corporate risk policies, risk management processes, roles and responsibilities, and risk culture. Second, company A integrated ERM with the existing management control system in order to evaluate the risk underlying the current management activities. Finally, ERM implementation was expanded to all subsidiaries so that each business unit would be delegated for its own risk management. This paper provides insight on the process how group-level internal auditors can use ERM as a tool to manage risk of subsidiaries, thereby filling the gap between academic research and practice. This successful ERM adoption case can be used as a guideline for other organizations, which plan to adopt ERM with reduced costs and improved processes.

This research identifies factors that explain the liquidity of commercial banks in the Vietnam banking system from 2010 to 2015. Using the OLS regression method for analysis, it was found that:

1. the interbank market helps commercial banks improve their liquidity;
2. the larger the loan size, the higher the liquidity risk;
3. good credit risk management has a positive impact on liquidity risk management; and
4. long-term interest rate is negatively related to the liquidity of commercial banks.

The research also makes recommendations on liquidity risk management policies to banks and policy-makers from the Government and the State Bank of Vietnam.