Bank of America Makes $1 Million Commitment to NC State’s College of Management
Gift to Support Enterprise Risk Management Initiative at the College of Management
Feb. 9, 2005 - North Carolina State University’s College of Management and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced today (Feb. 9) a $1 million grant from the Foundation to support the college’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Initiative.
The grant will be used to support development of academic coursework in ERM, help recruit and support faculty members with ERM expertise, support additional research in the topic, and enhance the dissemination of knowledge through the ERM Roundtables and conferences as well as through the college’s undergraduate and graduate academic programs.
“We, at Bank of America, are pleased to be a part of this effort,” said Graham Denton, Bank of America North Carolina Market President. “There is an important connection between this initiative and Bank of America,” he said. “In an incredibly complicated world, risk management has become a major discipline. And Bank of America is recognized as a leader in that discipline."
Dr. Mark Beasley, professor of accounting, has been involved at the national level in developing a conceptual framework for enterprise risk management to assist boards and senior executives in the management of risks across an enterprise, and is leading the Enterprise Risk Management Initiative at the college.
As part of the ERM Initiative, Beasley launched a popular ERM Roundtable discussion forum in spring 2004. Executives from all types of enterprises across North Carolina attend the monthly breakfast meetings, which have been averaging 80 guests at each session to discuss ERM implementation concerns.
“Risks for most enterprises are increasing in volume and complexity, and senior executives are interested in ensuring that the techniques and tools they use to manage the portfolio of risks they face are state-of-the-art. The ERM Roundtables provide a forum for an exchange of ideas,” said Beasley.
“Our goal is to further develop the college’s expertise and leadership in the management of entity-wide risks for boards of directors, senior executives, and other stakeholders seeking to preserve and enhance the value of their entities,” he said.
Beasley served on the Advisory Council of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission’s project to develop an ERM conceptual framework (see www.coso.org). That framework, Enterprise Risk Management – Integrated Framework, was released in September 2004 and is quickly becoming the new global standard for risk management.
“Current economic conditions and the ongoing disclosure of new corporate-related scandals are increasing interest among corporate leaders to develop effective methods for identifying, assessing, and managing enterprise-wide risks,” he says. Recent regulatory changes are placing additional responsibility on audit committees or boards to take responsibility for risk management. This requires a more comprehensive approach to ERM in the corporate environment, using consistent methodologies to track and manage risk exposures and other related issues.
“We very much appreciate Bank of America’s recognition of the college’s established expertise in enterprise risk management and look forward to further developing our programs of research, teaching and outreach in this field,” said Ira R. Weiss, dean of the college.
“NC State has established itself as a major player in contemporary business education,” said Jeff Lee, Bank of America Triangle Market President. “We value our relationship with the college and feel this support will help our bank and our clients as we work together to build communities.”
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has one of the largest philanthropic budgets of any corporate foundation in the United States. In 2005, the Foundation will launch an unprecedented $1.5 billion, 10-year philanthropic campaign.
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United
States, serving 33 million consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than 16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than twelve million active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85 percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (ticker: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
NC State’s College of Management offers undergraduate and graduate education in business management, with a focus on the management of technology. The college’s MBA program offers concentrations in biotechnology-pharmaceuticals, financial management, information technology, product innovation, marketing, supply chain and technology commercialization. The college also offers Master of Accounting and master’s and doctoral degrees programs in economics.
For media assistance, please contact:
NC State College of Management:
Anna Rzewnicki, director of communications
919-513-4478; anna_rzewnicki@ncsu.edu
Bank of America:
George Owen, 904-791-5701
george.owen@bankofamerica.com