case, that simply isn’t possible. It’s therefore essential that we understand the major risks to our business operations to enable us to manage them to our advantage.


Some risks are so minor as to be insignificant, whereas others have the potential to seriously affect our business’s continued well-being. So it’s important to understand the likelihood and the potential consequences of our own particular risks, and to take sensible, cost-effective mitigation measures for the more significant ones.


This book will help you to do just that; leading you through the process in a straightforward, no-nonsense way. It will help you to identify and manage your risks in a number of areas, such as strategy, day-to-day business operations, financial control, capitalising on potential business opportunities, launching new products or services, expanding or changing the shape of your business and managing projects,


to name but a few (see page 29 for more details). It will guide you through the various stages of assessing and mitigating your risks without blinding you with pseudo-science, techno-speak or jargon.


Many large corporations commit significant resources to the management of risk. Most small to medium enterprises (SMEs), however, are unlikely to be able to afford this luxury. And although the potential losses for the smaller business may be more modest than for the large national or multi-national corporation, the stakes can be far higher, as SME’s don’t typically have anything like the same level of resources (people, money, equipment or facilities) at their disposal. It’s therefore essential that the risk management system that they employ is simple, straightforward and effective.


CHAPTER 1 11


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