The most common way of aligning the two is through scenario planning. Luca Zamaralla, CFO of Kraft Europe, says this is central to an effective strategy. "What is critical to us is scenario planning and an understanding of all the variables. We need to come across the strategy that is most cost effective and allows us to mitigate potential risk. The covert strategy never stands alone," he says.

Wolfgang Kniese, CFO of T-Mobile Austria, agrees: "I tend to think about risk management as the flip side to strategy. When you think about strategy, you usually look at what assets, what people, what knowledge I have. It is the same as the downsides for risk -- what am I missing, what can go wrong?"

There will never be a lack of risk appetite for corporates that are set on achieving growth, because any strategy inevitably entails risk. But that is not to say that the risks involved cannot be mitigated. A lesson that corporates are, if not learning now, then at least applying more in practice.