Use quantitative techniques to boost economic growth - Charles Barnor

Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Charles Barnor, has called on institutions in the country to consider the usage of quantitative techniques in their assessment of risk to improve decision making.

This, he said, will help to improve risk management and business, which would ultimately boost the country’s economy.

“It’s a very important aspect of decision making, but in Ghana, what we see today is the lack of the use of quantitative techniques to be able to make informed decisions for managers in the various sectors of the economy to improve on their decision making.”

“Currently you will agree with me that some decisions have been made in this country and as we may not have considered the right quantitative data for risk in making those decisions. But I believe that after this program, most of the people here, some of whom are in academia and industry, will be able to assist on the field, particularly the politicians so that we will be able to make decisions that will improve the net worth of this country,” he noted

Mr. Barnor said this in an interview with the BFT at the opening ceremony of the Africa Convention in Quantitative Methods and Risk Management, in Accra.

The 5-day Africa Convention in Quantitative Methods and Risk Management event is organised by OSL Risk Management, and other leading firms worldwide interested in sharing knowledge and the best practices on risk analysis and modelling across business and academic environments.

The Pro-Vice Chancellor stressed the need for companies to increasingly focus on identifying risks and managing them before they even affect the businesses.

The ability to manage risks, according to him, will help companies act more confidently on future business decisions, saying: “Their knowledge of the risk they are facing will give them various options on how to deal with potential problems.”

In the last decade, risk management in the banking and insurance sectors has witnessed a rise in the importance of operational risk among others which has attracted the attention of risk managers in financial institutions and regulators.

On her part, Evelyn Kwatia, Head of Risk Management for Bank of Ghana, urged every institution whether in the financial sector or no, to take risk management very serious, “because the moment you are able to identify your risk, you are able to litigate your risk, derive better benefits and you will be able to achieve the strategic objective of that organization,” she said.

She mentioned that some of the issues that affected the financial sector where we saw some sixteen banks being taken over and five others being merged, were as a result of weak risk management in the respective banks.

“Bank of Ghana within the space of two years collapsed 16 banks and merged five other banks into a Consolidated Bank of Ghana Limited. These Banks were undercapitalized as a result of poor corporate governance. But I will associate this crisis also to weak risk management,” she added.

Participants of the convention which is expected to end this Friday, will not only be certified internationally as Quantitative Risk Managers but will also have the opportunity to learn from world experts who have extensive practical experience in the area.