Managing Risk Responsibly

Our Chair of Trustees, Tracy Cherrington, shares her thoughts on responsible risk management.

As Chair of the Board of Trustees for Age UK Wandsworth, I am often asked how we ensure that our charity operates safely while continuing to provide vital support to older residents in our community - it is an important question. Managing risk responsibly is central to everything we do, not as a barrier to our work, but as an enabler of it.

Risk is often viewed as something to avoid, but every organisation faces risks. The key is understanding them, assessing them carefully and taking sensible steps to manage them. Good risk management allows us to continue delivering services with confidence while protecting the people we support, alongside our staff, volunteers, reputation and our financial resources.

The Board of Trustees has overall responsibility for overseeing risk across the charity. This includes examining areas such as safeguarding, financial management, information security, health and safety, governance and operational resilience. We maintain a central document, known as our ‘risk register’ where we record and regularly review the key risks facing the charity. This helps us to identify emerging risks, check that appropriate controls are in place and respond when circumstances change.

Safeguarding is, quite rightly, one of our highest priorities. The older people we support may be vulnerable and we have a duty to protect their well-being. We have clear policies, regular training and robust reporting procedures in place to ensure that concerns are addressed quickly and appropriately. Trustees receive regular updates to ensure full accountability.

Financial stewardship is another key area of focus. We carefully monitor income and expenditure, maintain appropriate reserves and plan for different scenarios to ensure the charity’s long-term resilience. Transparency is vital and we are committed to clear reporting so that our supporters and stakeholders can have confidence in how funds are used.

We also recognise that risks can change over time. New technologies, evolving regulations, economic pressures and changing community needs all create new challenges. For this reason, risk management is not a one-off exercise but an ongoing process.

The role of trustees is not to eliminate risk entirely - which would be impossible - but to ensure that risks are understood and proportionate to the potential benefits, whilst maintaining the highest standards of care and governance. A degree of risk is inherent in any meaningful work, particularly when responding to complex health and social care needs.

Ultimately, responsible risk management enables Age UK Wandsworth to continue delivering safe, effective and compassionate support to older residents. It is a responsibility we take seriously and one that underpins the trust placed in us by the community we support.