Case Study: Sainsbury’s

1250 Word limit Harvard referencing. LEARNING OUTCOMES TO BE ASSESSED IN THIS ASSIGNMENT (information only): • Understand the all-encompassing nature and importance of risk management, evaluating the external and internal influences on approaches to risk management and appreciating the importance of disaster scenario planning in today’s economic environment. • Use of both quantitative and qualitative techniques in order to evaluate and manage risk. • Acquire and present evidence of the ability to select and order content in order to present a sound academic and practical argument. • Display elementary numeracy and quantitative skills, including data analysis and interpretation. • Assess the corporate governance requirements placed on companies, with particular regard to risk management and internal controls. • Plan efficiently and manage independent study, including improved time- management and self-motivation skills. • Communicate effectively, orally and in writing, conceptually challenging concepts and ideas. It may be that, due to the possible diversity of student response, learning outcomes will be covered to differing / varying degrees by each student. CASE STUDY: Sainsbury Plc Sainsbury’s state on their website the following: “Our vision is to be the most trusted retailer, where people love to work and shop. We’ll do this by putting our customers at the heart of everything we do and investing in our stores, our colleagues and our channels to offer the best possible shopping experience.” (https://about.sainsburys.co.uk/about-us/our-vision, accessed 15/02/2019) Assignment brief Using your knowledge of Risk Management, you are required to systematically approach the following task: ACFI2306 (2018/19) 1 You are a graduate consultant working for a large risk management consultancy and have been asked by Sainsbury’s board of directors to prepare a report in response to a number of questions that have been raised by an investment analyst (who will be making recommendations to his clients in terms of Sainsbury’s being a potential investment). Your report should cover the following areas: a) Identification of FIVE key areas related to credit risk, and, in doing so, discuss the impact such risks may have on investors’ willingness to invest in Sainsbury’s financial instruments. b) The following statement is extracted from Sainsbury’s 2018 annual report highlighting business continuity as a principal risk identified by the board of directors: “A major incident or catastrophic event could impact on the Group’s ability to trade. Sainsbury’s exposure to business continuity and major incident risks may be greater following the acquisition of Argos and Nectar, given the increased size and complexity of the business.” As part of your report, you are required to evaluate the current business continuity strategy implemented by Sainsbury Plc, and, in doing so, recommend any further improvements to such a strategy as part of the Group’s overall Business Continuity Management (BCM). c) Addressing Sainsbury’s Plc shareholders, the board of directors for the Group provide the following statement of compliance: “The Board considers that the company has complied in full with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code (the ‘Governance Code’) for the financial year ended 10 March 2018.” As part of your report, you are required to: i. Highlight and discuss areas where the company clearly demonstrates strong governance in terms of leadership, effectiveness and remuneration in line with the UK Corporate Governance Code. ii. Provide suggestions where improvements could be made in the areas discussed in requirement (i) above. Assessment Criteria % of total marks • Presentation – Report structure and presentation – Language appropriate to report audience 10 • Introduction and conclusion 10 • Part (a) – Identification of risks – Impact on investors 15 • Part (b) – BCM analysis and recommendations 25 • Part (c) – Evidence of strong board leadership, effectiveness and remunerations – Potential areas of concern and remedies 35 • Referencing 5 TOTAL 100