Office of the Registrar of Companies marks Risk Awareness Week with push for risk-smart, resilient institution

The Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) has set a new approach to risk management across its directorates and zonal offices, encouraging staff and management to move beyond identifying risk-related issues to actively taking ownership and preventing risk cases at work.

The call was made during the official opening of the 2026 Risk Awareness Week on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, under the theme “Building a Risk-Smart ORC: Strengthening Resilience, Accountability and Service Excellence.”

The event was held at the ORC conference room in Accra.

The four-day programme, scheduled from Tuesday, September 22 to Friday, September 25, 2026, seeks to deepen staff understanding of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and strengthen a culture in which risks are identified early, discussed openly and managed or mitigated before they adversely affect the ORC’s operations and service delivery.

During the opening ceremony, the Registrar of Companies, Mrs Maame Samma Peprah, Esq., reminded staff that risks associated with ORC’s operations are critical aspects of the institution’s mandate, hence the need to create awareness and take steps to mitigate identified risks.

She emphasised that effective risk management cannot be confined to one department or a selected group of staff. Rather, staff across directorates and zonal offices have a role to play in safeguarding the organisation’s resources, reputation and ability to deliver quality services.

“The public depends on us for reliable company registration, accurate records, effective compliance services and timely support,” she said.

She added that to deliver these services well, staff must recognise the risks that could interrupt their work, weaken public confidence or prevent the institution from achieving its objectives.

According to Mrs Peprah, staff should appreciate risk management as a responsibility shared across ORC. She called on directorates, zonal and unit heads as risk owners and risk champions to understand the risks in their areas of work, ensure agreed controls and mitigation measures are carried out, keep risk discussions active, and help identify and report emerging issues.

The Registrar indicated the importance of taking risk considerations into everyday decisions and activities, rather than waiting until risks materialise. She said staff should place ownership and accountability firmly at the centre of ORC’s risk management agenda.

Mr Prince Kakah, Head of Internal Audit and Risk Coordinator, explained the programme outline for the Risk Awareness Week, saying the Governing Board is determined to incorporate ERM into ORC’s daily operations.

He noted that the Board’s focus goes beyond policy documents, aimed at ensuring that risk awareness shapes how staff plan, execute and evaluate their assigned duties at work.

Mr Kakah outlined the week’s activities as focusing on promoting awareness and providing practical understanding of risk management to all staff.

The activities include Opening and Staff Engagement; Directorate Risk Engagements and Risk Awareness Campaign; Health, Wellness and Organisational Resilience Talk; and a Risk Management Educational Symposium and Awards Ceremony.

The final event seeks to recognise and appreciate staff and teams who demonstrate strong risk management practices at the workplace.

The opening ceremony brought together the Deputy Registrar of Companies, Mr Benjamin Zigorsh-Nyakpenu, Heads of Directorates, Risk Owners, Risk Champions and other staff of ORC.

Heads and staff at the Zonal Offices in Kumasi, Sunyani, Sekondi and Tamale joined virtually, signalling strong institutional support for the ORC risk awareness initiative.

It is expected that the 2026 Risk Awareness Week celebration will reinforce the fact that risk management is not merely an audit function, a management responsibility or a compliance requirement, but a collective responsibility for all to be more accountable in taking decisions and better prepared to protect the ORC’s mandate and improve service delivery.

The initiative comes as public sector institutions face growing pressure to strengthen governance, accountability and service delivery — areas where the ORC, as the state agency responsible for company registration and compliance, plays a central role in Ghana’s business environment.