Risk Communication for the Future

Abstract

The article discusses the paradoxical foundation of a risk decision and the challenges the paradox puts on the management of risk communication. The exploration is done from a social systems theory perspective; a theory that provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for social systems and their communication processes and addresses the complexity, risk and conflicts of interests (Section ‘Systemic Audit: Widening the Perspective of Traditional Audit Approaches’). From this theoretical setting, the conclusion is derived that a statement about an organization’s risk cannot be proven as a ‘true’ statement and that a receiver of an audit report (the client) will always have good reasons to question an audit team’s risk communication (Section ‘The Paradoxical Foundation of a Risk Decision and Associated Challenges for Risk Communication Illustrated by the Example of an Audit Finding’). The article gives some hints on how an audit team can deal with clients’ needs by incorporating their requirements in its audit process, using concepts and tools from family therapy, brief therapy and systemic counselling (Section ‘Unpicking the Paradox of Risk Communication’).