EXTRAVAGANT CLAIMS SET RISK MANAGEMENT UP FOR FAILURE

Recent revelations of abuse by supposedly world-class practitioners on Wall Street and at companies like Enron underscore the importance of a realistic approach to risk management.

Whenever practitioners misuse and abuse the risk management discipline, they contribute to what risk management expert and Cutter Consortium Fellow Robert N. Charette calls the "risk management misery scenario" -- a future in which managing risk is perpetually under fire and discounted as an effective management tool.