The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) has intensified efforts to strengthen risk management across its directorates and zonal offices, urging staff to take ownership of risks and act proactively to prevent them from affecting the organisation’s operations and service delivery.
The call was made at the opening of the 2026 Risk Awareness Week in Accra on Tuesday, September 22, under the theme, “Building a Risk-Smart ORC: Strengthening Resilience, Accountability and Service Excellence.”
The four-day programme, which runs from Tuesday, September 22 to Friday, September 25, seeks to deepen staff understanding of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and promote a culture in which risks are identified early, discussed openly and managed before they adversely affect the organisation’s operations and service delivery.
The Registrar of Companies, Mrs Maame Samma Peprah, said risk management was critical to the ORC’s mandate and therefore required greater awareness and commitment from all staff.
She stressed that effective risk management should not be confined to a particular department or group of employees, but should involve staff across all directorates and zonal offices to safeguard the organisation’s resources, reputation and ability to provide quality services.
“The public depends on us for reliable company registration, accurate records, effective compliance services and timely support,” she said.
Mrs Peprah said staff must recognise risks that could disrupt their work, undermine public confidence or prevent the ORC from achieving its objectives.
She further urged directorates, zonal and unit heads, as risk owners and risk champions, to understand the risks associated with their areas of responsibility, ensure that agreed controls and mitigation measures were implemented, and keep risk discussions active.
She said risk considerations must become part of everyday decision-making and activities rather than being addressed only after risks had materialised.
Mrs Peprah therefore called for ownership and accountability to remain at the centre of the ORC’s risk management agenda.
The Head of Internal Audit and Risk Coordinator, Mr Prince Kakah, said the Governing Board was committed to integrating Enterprise Risk Management into the organisation’s daily operations.
He explained that the Board’s focus went beyond having risk management policies and documents, stressing the need for risk awareness to influence how staff planned, executed and evaluated their duties.
Mr Kakah said the Risk Awareness Week was designed to promote awareness and provide staff with practical knowledge of risk management.
Activities lined up for the week include an opening and staff engagement, directorate risk engagements and a risk awareness campaign, a health, wellness and organisational resilience talk, as well as a risk management educational symposium and awards ceremony.
The final event will recognise staff and teams who demonstrate strong risk management practices in the workplace.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Deputy Registrar of Companies, Mr Benjamin Zigorsh-Nyakpenu, heads of directorates, risk owners, risk champions and other staff.
Heads and staff of the ORC’s zonal offices in Kumasi, Sunyani, Sekondi and Tamale participated virtually, signalling broad institutional support for the initiative.
The 2026 Risk Awareness Week is expected to reinforce the message that risk management is not merely an audit or management responsibility, or a compliance requirement, but a collective responsibility requiring accountability in decision-making, protection of the ORC’s mandate and improved service delivery.
BY GORDON WELLU
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