MAINSYSTEMS 
1. Core Concepts and Legal Context
In this video we will work through a concrete decision: identify processes and decision points relevant to the risk plan. The aim is to explain the criterion used and apply it to a workplace situation. We will start with the concept, move to the procedure and finish with a case to solve. A risk matrix must reflect the entity's actual activities. This course presents the risk plan as a management tool, not a universal national obligation. The scales and measures are teaching examples to be aligned with rules applicable to the sector and organisation.
Mapping describes how work happens, including operational and support activities. An organisation chart identifies positions. A process shows decisions, inputs, outputs and handovers. The risk plan must cover the organisation and its activity. Apparently administrative tasks, such as changing supplier bank details, may create significant risk opportunities.
Apply the following rule: Public bodies and, generally, private employers with 50 or more employees must establish, maintain and operate internal reporting channels. The threshold does not apply to employers within the specified sectors in the Annex. Employees counted for that threshold must be distinguished from the wider category of workers entitled to protection. The designated follow-up function must be impartial and competent.
2. Practical Application and National Rule
Choose a process and identify its start, finish, participants, systems and decisions. Confirm the description with staff performing the work and authorised real records. Mark exceptions and tasks concentrated in one person. Do not merely copy a formal procedure where practice differs. The gap between expected and actual practice helps the assessment. Before moving on, turn this procedure into a sequence you could explain to a colleague. Identify the first check, the action that depends on its outcome and the record that allows the decision to be reconstructed. Follow the sequence on screen and identify the point where an error would change the result.
The 2016 Risk Management Guidance addresses Government Departments and Offices in the Civil Service. The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies provides a further framework, including board oversight of risk and control. Confirm which framework applies to the entity. The lesson’s three-level matrix is not a universal statutory form for every Irish business.
In supplier payments, one person receives bank-change requests, updates the supplier record and prepares payment. The organisation chart did not show this concentration. Process mapping reveals a point needing risk assessment and independent control. Now read the case carefully. Separate established facts from information you would still need to confirm. Do not add motives or events that have not been described. This distinction matters when choosing a response proportionate to the information available.
3. Case Study and Key Decision Points
The exercise is as follows: Why is an organisation chart insufficient to identify every risk? Choose an answer and write one sentence explaining it. During the pause, compare your choice with the criteria we have just considered. Also think about the material you would retain to explain the decision later.
It may not show how decisions and tasks connect. Risk can arise from combined powers, exceptions or information handovers. The process map makes those relationships visible.
One mistake to avoid is: describing departments while omitting decisions, exceptions and actual tasks.
Now apply the national rule to a second decision. A subsidiary copies its foreign head office's policy without assessing its own activities and size. What must it check?
Identify the local legal entity, sector, national counting method and any public-sector or territorial regimes. Then link each obligation to a source and a responsible person. A group model can support operations but does not replace this assessment.
Remember these three points. First: Map actual work. Second: Identify decision points. Third: Mark concentrated responsibilities.
To apply this learning, retrieve the procedure used in your organisation or consider how you would create it. Identify one difference between that procedure and the case we have just resolved. Write down the change you would propose and the information needed to justify it. You can complete this short task in the handout accompanying the video.
The expected outcome of this unit is the ability to identify processes and decision points relevant to the risk plan. Review the explained answer whenever you are unsure and keep the summary to support a future decision.
In the worksheet, connect your proposal to this video's national rule. Identify the document or platform field that would need to change and who should approve the change. If you conclude that it is good practice, explain the risk you intend to reduce. If you conclude that there is a legal duty, record its source and scope.