Risk Compliance Expert, Cyril Ilok Educates SMEs on Risk Management in Business
Experts on risk and crisis management recently trained Small Business owners on the important skill of stakeholder management. The masterclass themed, “The Resilient Small Business – A Stakeholder and Crisis Management Perspective” held on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020. Among the experts was MTN Nigeria’s Chief Risk & Compliance Officer, Cyril Ilok.
The virtual session, moderated by Amina Dambatta, General Manager, Regional Operations, MTN Nigeria, also had panelists like Prince Arthur Uche, CEO, Beyond Clothing; Nkechi Ali-Balogun, Principal Consultant, Necci Consulting; Peter Bamkole, Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University; and Tobechukwu Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services Officer, MTN Nigeria.
It was an opportunity for Cyril Ilok to share from his wealth of experience. Cyril started his career as an accountant. He is a fellow of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) with international certification in compliance, ethics, and risk management.
He joined MTN Nigeria in 2002 as a Senior Auditor in the Business Risk Management team and by 2007 had risen through the ranks to the role of Senior Manager, Process Audit. He became Senior Manager, Enterprise Risk Management from January 2013, and in 2014 to 2018, occupied the General Manager, Business Risk Management position. He became the Risk and Compliance Executive at MTN Nigeria since December 3, 2018. Cyril loves to drive business continuity and building crisis management frameworks.
Recently, MTN Nigeria was awarded the most Responsive Organisation to the Covid-19 pandemic crisis in Nigeria at the 2020 Nigeria Risk Awards. The Nigerian Risk Awards recognize and reward organisations and individuals who have achieved measurable results through effective implementation of good governance, internal controls and risk management systems.
Speaking at the masterclass on assessing and minimising risk, Cyril said, “This involves identifying the key risks that could lead to non-achievement of business objectives. The outcome of this is a risk universe, which is basically a register of all risks that could threaten the objectives.” Continuing on the topic, he said, “Risk analysis involves assessing the size of the risk. This is usually achieved by assessing the likelihood of the risk. Risk evaluation involves the comparison of the risk against the risk appetite. Risk treatment, if required, involves changing the risk through internal controls, process re- engineering, or avoidance.”
In his current capacity, Cyril and his team ensure they stay ethical, remaining resilient despite any challenges they may confront. He believes “any business unprepared for the business landscape, is not worth investing in”. The Revv Programme is an initiative of MTN Nigeria which consists of a series of business related masterclasses, advisory services, marketing and technology support targeted at over 10,000 SMEs to address the critical needs of SMEs and proffer solutions to their many challenges as they struggle for balance amid the COVID-19 storm.
