Letter to Our Stakeholders

September 1, 2018

To Our GARP Stakeholders,

The year 2017 was one of significant growth and change for the Global Association of Risk Professionals. Prior to its start, we identified strategic initiatives and goals for our global certification programs, for expanding GARP’s global footprint to support certification holders and to move forward the risk-management profession. We are pleased that we progressed on all fronts.

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GARP creates value for Financial Risk Manager and Energy Risk Professional certification holders by engaging in three critical and interlinked functions: education, research and benchmarking. Our research and benchmarking activities allow us to regularly update and reflect in our certification programs the current and evolving knowledge requirements of a risk manager.

In 2017, a record for FRM® certification registrations was set, surpassing the 50,000 threshold with more than 56,500 applicants, a 21 percent increase over 2016. Interest in the FRM was strong around the world. For this we can credit the FRM Committee, whose efforts in developing the FRM curriculum continue to make it relevant, current and globally recognized. The Committee consists of practitioners, academics and regulators.

The ERP® program also evolved, albeit in a smaller market. In 2017, we focused on expanding our global ERP business-development efforts. We also introduced the ERP program to numerous new energy-related organizations around the globe.

GARP educational outreach on behalf of the risk-management profession continued throughout 2017. We held local chapter meetings and produced a number of risk-management webcasts addressing issues of importance to the global financial-services industry. We also continued to look for opportunities to file non-partisan consultation-letter responses to regulatory initiatives.

The GARP Global Risk Forum series held its eighth annual forum in partnership with the Bank of England in November. These invitation-only gatherings bring together senior practitioners, academics and regulators for confidential discussion and debate around issues of importance to the global financial-services industry. Prior forums have been held in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. In 2018, the forum will be co-hosted, for the first time, with the Financial Services Agency of Japan.

In further support of GARP’s educational mission, we finalized plans to launch the GARP Risk Institute in January 2018, hiring leadership and developing objectives. The GARP Board of Trustees established GRI to expand our role as the globally accepted impartial convener of practitioners and regulators, to become the go-to organization for discussion and research related to important financial issues and to enhance GARP’s brand value as it relates to our FRM and ERP certification holders.

The GARP Benchmarking Initiative also expanded activities in 2017. GBI engages in confidential cross-border studies on behalf of the financial services industry, overcoming myriad legal and practical issues endemic in global studies. GBI conducted 10 cross-border studies in 2017. The GBI participant list included nearly 80 international banks and industry associations. The objective analysis provided by GBI is regularly used by the global financial services industry in support of internal benchmarking activities and in discussions with regulators around the world.

We are proud of the progress and ongoing utility of GARP’s three predominant activities:
• Certification through the FRM and ERP programs,
• Research, through the GARP Risk Institute, and
• Benchmarking, through the GARP Benchmarking Initiative.

Together, these allow GARP to promote its global brand, fulfill the educational and professional needs of certified FRM and ERP holders and contribute positively and objectively to the global risk-management profession.

We thank you for your continued support of GARP, and, as always, welcome any thoughts or ideas about how we can best continue our positive contributions to the risk-management profession.

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William Wesley Martin
Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Richard Apostolik
President and Chief Executive Officer

Certification
Programs

GARP provides financial risk managers and energy risk professionals the opportunity to verify professional competency through the Financial Risk Manager and Energy Risk Professional certification programs.

Financial Risk Manager

FRM certification requires passing the FRM Exam and demonstration of at least two years’ full-time experience in financial risk or a related field. This designation is globally recognized as mastery of the principles and practice of risk management. In 2017, registrations for the FRM certification program increased 21 percent.

Energy Risk Professional

ERP certification requires a passing grade on the ERP Exam and a minimum of two years’ full-time related work experience in commercial energy risk, physical commodity operations, engineering or a related field. In 2017, the ERP program grew significantly, establishing areas of concentration in developed energy and commodity-trading hubs around the globe.

GARP Benchmarking Initiative

The GARP Benchmarking Initiative was founded to address the topic of systemic risk through independent regional and cross-border analysis. Initially, GBI “benchmarked” banks across national borders. In 2017, its fifth year, GBI expanded both the breadth of topics under study and the number of participating institutions to include asset-management firms, insurance companies and central counterparties.

Cross-border studies are critical in today’s tightly linked global financial markets. GBI serves as a resource for understanding the impact of proposed regulatory framework revisions and for identifying system risk build-up. Studies of this nature require significant technological and personnel resources to compile. Cross-border issues present complex legal considerations and logistical data-collection challenges. Delays in report distribution can diminish the value of report content. GBI addresses these issues, which call for an independent, non-partisan platform to conduct studies in an efficient, secure and accurate manner.

Membership,
Activities and Events

Membership

GARP membership grew by nearly 40,000 in 2017. Membership initiatives included a plan for a members-only online community and launch of a Subject Matter Expert program. GARP SMEs offer support for chapter meetings, global events, webcasts and podcasts as well as member-to-member consultations, discussions and networking. More than 3,500 SME records were registered with the program in 2017.

Alumni Activities

GARP engages recently certified FRMs and ERPs by offering a number of products, services and opportunities to expand their risk management skills and knowledge. This includes premium content on multiple channels, networking events, admission to GARP premium events and preferential rates for the GARP Risk Convention.

Community

In the fourth quarter of 2017 GARP released a blueprint for GARP Community, an online forum aiming to foster discussion about risk and risk practices among risk practitioners. Here, members will engage with peers to discuss topics such as best practices, solicit resource referrals and make connections.

Global Leadership Forum

GARP co-hosted the Bank of England GARP Global Risk Forum in London in 2017. The 2017 Forum examined how regulators and financial institutions can identify, manage and monitor institutional-level and systemic financial risks and how to identify and debate approaches to allow regulators and financial institutions to better perform their roles.

Buy-Side Risk Managers Forum

The GARP Buy-Side Risk Managers Forum brings together senior risk professionals from large asset-management firms and investment-management subsidiaries of banks and insurance companies to discuss current and emerging risks in investment management.

The 18^th Risk Convention

The 2017 Risk Convention was held March 7^th and 8^th at the New York Marriott Marquis with 550 risk-management professionals, including leading policy makers and financial risk academics, in attendance. The program included keynotes, briefings and consortia showcasing 80 speakers from more than 30 countries.

Content and Communications

Risk Intelligence

Risk Intelligence is GARP’s flagship digital publication, featuring breaking news, analysis and commentary in reported articles, bylined columns and video content. In 2017, an average of three new articles was published weekly on such topical issues as cybersecurity and geopolitical uncertainty.

Interactive multimedia

Eighteen on-demand webcasts were added to GARP’s library of digital content in 2017, generating 13,000 registrations. The GARP video library added 28 new offerings in 2017 and was accessed more than 32,000 times. In October 2017, GARP podcasts were introduced, with the initial library accessed 4,500 times in just three months.

Financials

The following highlights are from the GARP Consolidated Financial Statements as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016. For a full set of financials, please contact memberservices@garp.com.

Consolidated statements of financial position for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

Assets	2017	2016
Total assets	$40,897,010	$31,118,294
Liabilities and Net Assets
Total liabilities	$12,800,139	$10,471,028
Net assets—unrestricted	$28,096,871	$20,647,266
Total liabilities and net assets	$40,897,010	$31,118,294

Consolidated statements of financial activities for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016

Revenues and Other Support	2017	2016
Total revenues and other support	$36,786,491	$28,568,133
Expenses
Total expenses	$29,336,886	$25,516,295
Change in net assets	$7,449,605	$3,051,838
Net assets—unrestricted, beginning of year	$20,647,266	$17,595,428
Net assets—unrestricted, end of year	$28,096,871	$20,647,266

Consolidated statements of financial position for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016	Assets	Total assets	Liabilities and Net Assets	Total liabilities	Net assets—unrestricted	Total liabilities and net assets
	2017	$40,897,010	2017	$12,800,139	$28,096,871	$40,897,010
	2016	$31,118,294	2016	$10,471,028	$20,647,266	$31,118,294

Consolidated statements of financial activities for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016	Revenues and Other Support	Total revenues and other support	Expenses	Total expenses	Change in net assets	Net assets—unrestricted, beginning of year	Net assets—unrestricted, end of year
	2017	$36,786,491	2017	$29,336,886	$7,449,605	$20,647,266	$28,096,871
	2016	$28,568,133	2016	$25,516,295	$3,051,838	$17,595,428	$20,647,266

Annual
Report
2017

Letter to Our Stakeholders