Class Time	Mondays, 6:00 – 9:30 pm
Classroom	ACC 201
Professor	Ward Ching
Office	Virtual
Office Phone (415)314.9878
Email	[email protected] [email protected]
Office Hours	Mondays, 4:00 – 6:00 pm and by appointment Schedule a meeting via email

Course Description

Significant disruption caused by new market entrants, novel products and technologies, and unforeseen events, like the 2007-2008 financial crisis, geo-political conflict and the aftereffects of COVID-19, are compelling organizations to react, innovate, and change. Risk management and, in particular, effective enterprise level risk identification, risk measurement through advanced analytics, risk mitigation and risk transfer mechanisms are now mission critical to these organizations. Misidentification or insufficient understanding of an organization’s risk tolerance, risk profile, and risk portfolio dynamics could be severely consequential to the organization. The inability to effectively innovate in this rapidly changing political, economic and operational environment could impact the survivability of the entity over time. This course aims to equip students with the skills to think critically about identified and assessed risks and develop innovative solutions to control and transfer those risks. Through case studies, guest lectures, and research students will explore issues such as U.S. policymaker and semiconductor industry response to supply chain, geopolitical, and geoeconomic risks, repurposing a traditional security product to manage catastrophic risk, and using carbon credits to combat the risks of climate change.

Learning Objectives and Goals

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

To achieve these learning objectives, we will use a combination of background reading, films, videos, podcasts, interactive discussion and lecture, guest speakers, and cases.

See Appendix I for Marshall School of Business six undergraduate program learning goals.

See Appendix II for Leventhal School of Accounting six undergraduate program learning objectives.

Required Materials

Required materials will be posted to Blackboard. Individual assignments and team assignments will be provided during class sessions and posted to Blackboard.

This syllabus, including the course schedule, is subject to change; any revisions will be dated and posted to Blackboard.

Prerequisites and/or Recommended Preparation

Although not a formal requirement for this course, regular reading of a general business periodical or newspaper financial section will aid in your business education. Students can access The Wall Street Journal for free through the USC Libraries. In addition, The Wall Street Journal now offers a daily email feed, the Morning Risk Report. See https://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/.

In addition, you may want to join a risk management group online. You can find several thoughtful risk management groups through LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) or the Insurance Thought Leadership group (www.insurancethoughtleadership.com). The Risk & Insurance Management Society (www.rims.org) has an active Los Angeles chapter and provides a variety of resources related to risk management. Reviewing postsrelating to risk management from any of these sources can give you a view on the issues that risk management professionals in these industries face on a daily basis.

Course Notes

Course communications will take place through announcements in class, announcements posted to Blackboard, and emails sent through Blackboard. The professor’s class presentation materials will be posted to Blackboard. All students must have a fully operational Blackboard account.

Grading Policies

Your relative performance related to contribution and professionalism, the individual student project memoranda, the team project, and the final exam will determine your grade in this class. The weights3 listed below determine your overall course grade for this class:

Assignment	Points	Weight
Contribution and Professionalism	100	10%
Discussion Board (12 Assignments; 5 points each)	60	6%
Guest Speaker Questions and Take-Aways (5 points each)	50	5%
Individual Project Memorandum 1	200	20%
Individual Project Memorandum 2	200	20%
Radical Transparency Exercise	50	5%
Team Project Presentation	300	30%
Final Exam Presentation (Course Take-Aways)	40	4%
Total	1,000	100%

Assignments and Grading Detail

Expectations regarding your performance are as follows:

Contribution and Professionalism

Contribution and professionalism are integral components of this course. Students are required and expected to attend in person and participate actively in all class sessions. In each circumstance that the student needs to be absent, the student is expected to notify the professor prior to the start of class. Failure to notify the professor results in a reduction of points. If an emergency situation or illness arises, the student should take care of himself or herself or the loved one and notify the professor as soon as practicable.

While contribution and professionalism are not graded based on attendance only, attendance is a prerequisite for receiving a positive contribution and professionalism grade. High-quality contributions and professionalism include but are not limited to: thoughtfully responding to the professor’s prompts; asking questions; answering other students’ questions; sharing personal or professional experiences related to course content; actively participating in in-class team exercises; demonstrating respectful and courteous behavior with guest speakers and towards class members during class discussions and team exercises; and arriving to class on time.

This will be an in-person class; it will not be possible to attend this class remotely or asynchronously. Learning is fundamentally a multi-dimensional, experiential process, much of which occurs outside of purely formal and informational channels. For this reason, being physically present in class on a consistent basis is essential for getting the most out of this course. Due to the nature of the course, attending less than 75% of class sessions will result in a grade of F.

Discussion Board

There are Discussion Board posts required in advance of certain class sessions to engage you in the background materials for the class session. Points earned for the Discussion Board posts will be based on good faith effort and thoughtfulness of the post.

Guest Speaker Questions and Take-Aways

We will have several guest speakers during the semester. For particular guest speakers, students will be required to submit by 6:00 pm Pacific the day before the guest speaker’s appearance in the class session two questions on the materials provided for that class session. Questions reflecting a thorough review of the materials and submitted on time will receive full four points. Questions submitted after the deadline, but before the start of the relevant class session will receive a reduction of two points. Questions submitted after the start of the relevant class session will receive no points.

Student will also be required to submit one take-away regarding the guestspeakersession after the class session and no later than 6:00 pm Pacific on Wednesday in the week of the guest speaker. Take- aways reflecting new facts, issues, and considerations that are key to understanding the guest speaker presentation and discussion and submitted on time willreceive the full one point. A take-away submitted after the deadline, but before the start of the next class session will receive a reduction of half a point. A take-away submitted after the start of the next class session will receive no points.

Individual Student Project Memoranda

There are two individual project assignments. Details of the Individual Student Project Memoranda will be discussed in class two weeks prior to the due date and the specifics of the assignments will also be posted on Blackboard. The memoranda are intended to help the student examine specific risks and develop innovative solutions to control or transfer those risks. Each individual memorandum will be 1,500 words in length. Memoranda may be presented in class. Memoranda grading may or may not allow for revision after initial grading.

Radical Transparency Exercise

The Radical Transparency Exercise will be introduced two weeks before the class session and is an in class exercise. Points will be earned based on active, thoughtful and respectful participation.

Team Project Presentation

The Team Project will be introduced in week 1-2 of the class. Depending on the size of the class, equally sized teams will be organized into Industry Verticals. Each Industry Vertical Team will identify a key company to follow and analyze. The objective of the Team Project is to assume the role of a risk analyst identifying a challenging-to-control risk and developing an innovative solution to control or transfer that risk. The intent isfor the team to analyze the industry vertical and company to describe their decision and rationale regarding their choice of a risk control or transfer solution. Each Team will present their project findings and recommendationsin classto their class peers at the end of the semester. Each team member must be part of and deliver the oral presentation. A presentation document and power point demonstration document are required. The variousteams will work with a teaching assistant to organize, prepare, rehearse, and deliver their project results and recommendations.6

Final Exam Presentation (Course Take-Aways)

In lieu of a final exam, each student will develop and deliver on the University scheduled date and time of the final exam a presentation on overall course take-aways. This assignment will be discussed during a class session towards the end of the semester. This assignment provides students the opportunity to reflect on the readings and other background materials, guest speakers, case studies, and individual and team exercises, which have been most meaningful to them and share their thoughts with their classmates and professor.

Course Calendar

The course calendar is set forth in Appendix III. For a detailed outline of class sessions, see Blackboard. The course calendar is subject to change; revisions if any will be posted on Blackboard.

Important Dates for this Course

Monday, January 8	First Day of Class
Monday, February 5	Individual Assignment 1 is due
Monday, March 4	Radical Transparency In-Class Exercise
Monday, April 8	Individual Assignment 2 is due
Monday, April 22	Team Project Presentations in class
Monday, May 6	Final Exam Presentations (7:00 – 9:00 pm)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Add/Drop Process

Students may drop via Web Registration to receive a refund at any time prior to January 26. Please note that if a student drops after January 26 the student’s STARS report and student record will show a “W” for the class. Students may add the class asspace becomes available via Web Registration through January 26.

Dates to Remember

Friday, January 26	Last day to add classes or drop without a "W"
Friday, February 23	Last day to change enrollment from P/NP to Letter Grade
Friday, April 5	Last day to drop with "W"

Retention of Graded Coursework

All graded work which affected the course grade will be retained for one year after the end of the course if the graded work has not been returned to the student. If a graded paper is returned to the student, it is the student’s responsibility to file it.7

Technology Policy

Laptop and Internet usage is not permitted during academic or professional sessions unless otherwise stated by the professor. Use of other personal communication devices,such as cell phones, is considered

unprofessional and is not permitted during academic or professional sessions.

ANY and ALL e-devices (cell phones, iPads, other texting devices, laptops, I-pods) must be completely turned off during class time. Upon request, you must comply and put your device on the table in off mode and FACE DOWN. You might also be asked to deposit your devices in a designated area in the classroom.

Videotaping class lectures and discussions is not permitted due to copyright infringement regulations.Audio recording is only permitted if approved in advance by the professor. Use of any recorded or

distributed material isreserved exclusively for the USC studentsregistered in this class. Exceptionsto this

policy may be granted to individual students with appropriate documentation on a case-by-case basis.

Recordings

Pursuant to the USC Student Handbook (https://policy.usc.edu/studenthandbook/, page 21, page 57), students may not record a university class without the express permission of the instructor and announcement to the class. In addition, students may not distribute or use notes or recordings based on University classes or lectures without the express permission of the instructor for purposes other than personal or class-related group study by individuals registered for the class. This restriction on unauthorized use applies to all information that is distributed or displayed for use in relationship to the class.

Statement on Academic Conduct

The University of Southern California is a learning community committed to developing successful scholars and researchers dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and the dissemination of ideas. Academic misconduct, which includes any act of dishonesty in the production or submission of academic work, comprises the integrity of the person who commits the act and can impugn the perceived integrity of the entire university community. Itstandsin opposition to the university’s mission to research, educate, and contribute productively to our community and the world.

All students are expected to submit assignments that represent their own original work, and that have been prepared specifically for the course or section for which they have been submitted. You may not submit work written by others or “recycle” work prepared for other courses without obtaining written permission from the instructor(s). Other violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication (e.g., falsifying data), collusion, knowingly assisting others in acts of academic dishonesty, and any act that gains or is intended to gain an unfair academic advantage.8

The impact of academic dishonesty is far-reaching and is considered a serious offense against the university. All incidences of academic misconduct will be reported to the Office of Academic Integrity and could result in outcomessuch asfailure on the assignment, failure in the course,suspension, or even expulsion from the university.

For more information about academic integrity see the USC Student Handbook or the Office of Academic Integrity’s website, and university policies on Research and Scholarship Misconduct.

Students should ask the instructor if students are unsure what constitutes unauthorized assistance for an exam or assignment, or what information requires citation and/or attribution.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Students can use AI (e.g., ChatGPT and image generation tools) in this class. Learning to use AI is an emerging skill. Students should keep in mind the following:

AI tools may help students brainstorm topics or revise work they have already written.

If students provide minimum-effort prompts, they will obtain low-quality results. Students will need to refine their prompts to obtain good outcomes. They will still need to meet any grading rubric requirements. This will take work.

Students should proceed with caution when using AI tools and not assume the information provided is accurate or trustworthy. If an AI tool gives students a number or fact, they should assume it is incorrect unless they either know the correct answer or can verify its accuracy with another source. Students will be responsible for any errors or omissions provided by the tool. It works best for topics students understand.

AI is a tool, but one that students need to acknowledge using. They must include a paragraph at the end of any assignment that uses AI explaining how (and why) they used AI and indicate/specify the prompts they used to obtain the results. Failure to do so is a violation of academic integrity policies.

Students should be thoughtful about when AI is useful. They should consider AI’s appropriateness for each assignment or circumstance. The use of AI tools requires attribution. Students are expected to clearly attribute any material generated by the tool used.

Students should ask the instructor if they are unsure about what constitutes unauthorized assistance on an assignment, or what information requires citation and/or attribution.

• Collaboration. In this class, students are expected to submit work that demonstrates students’ individual mastery of the course concepts.

• Group work. Unless specifically designated as a ‘group project,’ all assignments are expected to be completed individually.

• Computer programs. Plagiarism includes the submission of code written by, or otherwise obtained from someone else.9

If found responsible for an academic violation, students may be assigned university outcomes, such as suspension or expulsion from the university, and grade penalties, such as an “F” grade on the assignment and/or in the course.

Professor Ching’s Position on the use of AI

The use of AI tools, techniques and capabilities has emerged as a potentially powerful and pervasive academic and presentation tool. In its current form, AI may assist students to more efficiently access information, perform specified calculations, draw insightful inferences from data, and construct useable written content. For purposes of this class, AI should be considered a tool to assist the student to explore issues and generate informational or presentation output that is supplemental to the core student research or document production process. AI tool output, in all forms, should never be positioned or conveyed as “original student work product.” All uses of AI need to be properly identified and footnoted using standard footnote technique. In the body of a text, report, or presentation, where an AI tool was used to produced research results or document output, the manufactured content must be italicized, footnoted, and clearly identified as “AI Assisted Research.” Substituting AI tool output and portraying it ,as original student research or written work is prohibited. If AI supplemented student work is ,misrepresented as original and not properly footnoted, the penalty will be that a failing grade or loss of grading points will be assigned to that student work product. The student’s overall grade in class may be adversely impacted as well.

Professor Ching’s perspective on AI, while consistent and supportive of the Marshall School AI statement, will be the framework used in this class.

Any deviation from this framework needs to be discussed with Professor Ching prior to project or presentation use.

Open Expression and Respect for All

An important goal of the educational experience at USC Marshall is to be exposed to and discuss diverse, thought-provoking, and sometimes controversial ideas that challenge one’s beliefs. In this course we will support the values articulated in the USC Marshall “Open Expression Statement” (https://www.marshall.usc.edu/about/open-expression-statement Students and Disability Accommodations:

USC welcomes students with disabilities into all of the University’s educational programs. The Office of Student Accessibility Services (OSAS) is responsible for the determination of appropriate accommodations for students who encounter disability-related barriers. Once a student has completed the OSAS process (registration, initial appointment, and submitted documentation) and accommodations are determined to be reasonable and appropriate, a Letter of Accommodation (LOA) will be available to generate for each course. The LOA must be given to each course instructor by the student and followed up with a discussion. This should be done as early in the semester as possible as accommodations are not retroactive. More information can be found at https://osas.usc.edu. You may10 contact OSAS at (213) 740-0776 or via email at [email protected].

Student Well-Being Support Systems

Counseling and Mental Health - (213) 740-9355 - 24/7 on call https://studenthealth.usc.edu/counseling

Free and confidential mental health treatment for students, including short-term psychotherapy, group counseling, stress fitness workshops, and crisis intervention. 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline - 988 for both calls and text messages – 24/7 on call https://988lifeline.org/

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) pro-vides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, days a week, across the United States. The Lifeline is comprised of a national network of over 200 local crisis centers, combining custom local care and resources with national standards and best practices.

The new, shorter phone number makes it easier for people to remember and access mental health crisis services (though the previous 1 (800) 273-8255 number will continue to function indefinitely) and represents a continued commitment to those in crisis.

Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services (RSVP) - (213) 740-9355(WELL), press “0” after hours - 24/7 on call https://studenthealth.usc.edu/sexual-assault

Free and confidential therapy services, workshops, and training for situations related to gender- and power-based harm (including sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking).

Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX (EEO-TIX) - (213) 740-5086 https://eeotix.usc.edu

Information about how to get help or help someone affected by harassment or discrimination, rights of protected classes, reporting options, and additional resources for students, faculty, staff, visitors, and applicants.

Reporting Incidents of Bias or Harassment - (213) 740-5086 or (213) 821-8298 https://usc-advocate.symplicity.com/care_report

Avenue to report incidents of bias, hate crimes, and microaggressions to the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX for appropriate investigation, supportive measures, and response.

Office of Student Accessibility Services - (213) 740-0776 https://osas.usc.edu

OSAS ensures equal access for students with disabilities through providing academic accommodations and auxiliary aids in accordance with federal laws and university policy.

USC Campus Support and Intervention - (213) 821-4710 https://campussupport.usc.edu

Assists students and families in resolving complex personal, financial, and academic issues adversely affecting their success as a student.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - (213) 740-2101 https://diversity.usc.edu

Information on events, programs and training, the Provost’s Diversity and Inclusion Council, Diversity

Liaisons for each academic school, chronology, participation, and various resources for students.

USC Emergency - UPC: (213) 740-4321, HSC: (323) 442-1000 - 24/7 on call https://dps.usc.edu or https://emergency.usc.edu

Emergency assistance and avenue to report a crime. Latest updates regarding safety, including ways in which instruction will be continued if an officially declared emergency makestravelto campus infeasible.

USC Department of Public Safety - UPC: (213) 740-6000, HSC: (323) 442-1200 - 24/7 on call https://dps.usc.edu Non-emergency assistance or information.

Office of the Ombuds - (213) 821-9556 (UPC) / (323-442-0382 (HSC) https://ombuds.usc.edu A safe and confidential place to share your USC-related issues with a University Ombuds who will work with you to explore options or paths to manage your concern.

Occupational

Therapy Faculty Practice - (323) 442-3340 or [email protected] https://chan.usc.edu/otfp

Confidential Lifestyle Redesign services for USC students to support health promoting habits and routines that enhance quality of life and academic performance.

Addiction Resources - (310) 822-1234 or [email protected] https://orsl.usc.edu/events/recovery/ The Haven at College partners with USC to help students with mental health, substance use, video game, internet, and other addiction concerns continue with their academic and extracurricular activities while receiving Intensive Outpatient (IOP) treatment and recovery

support on campus and online.

Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, the USC Emergency Information web site (http://emergency.usc.edu/) will provide safety and other information, including electronic means by which instructors will conduct class using a combination of USC’s Blackboard learning management system (http://blackboard.usc.edu), teleconferencing, and other technologies.