The Implications of Risk Management Information Systems for the Organization of Financial Firms

Financial dealer firms have invested heavily in recent years to develop information systems for risk measurement. I take it as given that technological progress is likely to continue at a rapid pace, making it less expensive for financial firms to assemble risk information. I look beyond questions of risk measurement methodology to investigate the implications of risk management information systems. By examining several theoretical models of the firm in the presence of asymmetric information, I explore how a financial firm’s capital budgeting, incentive compensation, capital structure, and risk management activities are likely to change as it becomes less costly to assemble risk information. I also explore the likely effects of the falling cost of assembling risk information on a financial firm’s organizational structure. Two common themes emerge: centralization within the firm and increased disclosure of risk information outside the firm are both likely to increase.