Operarisknivå

Operarisknivå, or operational risk level, is a measure of an organization’s exposure to operational risk. Operational risk encompasses losses arising from inadequate or failed internal processes, people, systems, or from external events. The level is used to describe how exposed the organization is to such risks at a given point in time and to indicate the urgency and magnitude of required risk-mitigation actions.

The typical approach to defining the operarisknivå combines the likelihood of adverse events with their potential impact. Scales commonly range from low to high (or use numerical 1–5), producing a qualitative or semi-quantitative risk level. The level is often expressed alongside supporting indicators such as the number of incidents, financial losses, and the strength of controls. Key risk indicators (KRIs), control effectiveness, and the results of control testing contribute to the assessment.

Assessment methods include risk and control self-assessments (RCSA), incident databases, loss-event analyses, and scenario-based exercises. Organizations may also use risk matrices, heat maps, and quantitative models in more mature frameworks. The operarisknivå informs risk governance, helping determine risk appetite, prioritize remediation, and allocate resources for control improvements and contingency planning.

In regulated sectors such as banking and insurance, operational risk is a recognized risk category with regulatory implications. Basel II/III frameworks address capital for operational risk, though many institutions rely on internal assessments of operarisknivå for day-to-day management. Limitations include data quality, underreporting of incidents, and the evolving nature of risks, which requires continuous monitoring and updating of risk levels.