pension333: Pension Risk, Governance and CFO Liability

My November 2011 presentation about pension risk, governance and liability to financial executives struck a chord. Part of a Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") conference held at the New York Stock Exchange, attendees alternatively listened with interest while adding their insights from the front lines here and there. It is no wonder.

With ERISA litigation on the rise and 401(k) and defined benefit plan decisions often driving enterprise value in a material way, CFOs and treasurers have accepted the obvious. Corporate governance and pension governance are inextricably linked. Make a bad decision about an employee benefit plan and participants and shareholders alike may suffer. As a result, the CFO is exposed to fiduciary liability, career risk and the economic consequences of an outcome with broad impact.

Rather than rely on luck, there is no better time to apply discipline and rigor to employee benefit plan management for those companies that have not already done so. With trillions of dollars at stake, properly identifying, measuring and mitigating pension risks continues to be a critical element of fiduciary governance.

The complexity and ongoing nature of the risk management process is sometimes overlooked as less important than realizing a particular rate of return. Recent market volatility, large funding deficits and pressures from creditors, shareholders, rating agencies and plan participants make it harder for pension fiduciaries to avoid the adoption of some type of pro-active risk control strategy that effectively integrates asset and liability economics.

In "Pension risk, governance and CFO liability" by Susan Mangiero (Journal of Corporate Treasury Management, Henry Stewart Publications, Vol 4, 4, 2012, pages 311 to 323), the issues relating to a panoply of risks such as actuarial, fiduciary, investment, legal, operational and valuation uncertainties are discussed within a corporate treasury framework. Article sections include: