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Managing Business Risk

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Managing Business Risk

A Practical Guide to Protecting Your Business

Kogan Page,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

Imagine getting ranking corporate experts together to teach you the best risk management practices. Well, here they are.

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

This advertiser-supported book is unusual, and not only because the reader may find it surprising to find advertising pages in a book. Offering various levels of commentary and analysis on a spectrum of risks and risk management approaches, the editor has brought together a diverse group of executives and experts from firms that provide risk management services. Sections cover value and cost, change and continuity, governance and control, integrity and accountability, knowledge and systems, financial risks, legal considerations and workplace and employment practices. While some pieces do have a promotional bent, several are quite sophisticated and merit careful reading. The section on Sarbanes-Oxley implementation, written by an Ernst & Young senior manager, is certainly timely. It is also distinctive, since many of the book’s essays focus on Europe, particularly the United Kingdom. The chapter on managing intellectual property risks, written by two experts from Clifford Chance, also offers tips that are well worth remembering. In sum, getAbstract.com recommends this somewhat surprising package of useful and relevant information.

Summary

Business Risk

The Boy Scouts’ motto is “be prepared.” That should also be the motto of every business. The events of September 11, 2001, taught the world that the unlikeliest, most improbable things can happen, and impossibly devastating consequences can indeed ensue. A good risk management program does the following:

  • Identifies all of the risks facing a company or organization.
  • Assesses the range of possible consequences for each risk.
  • Identifies and analyzes an array of remedies and prophylactics.
  • Chooses the prophylactic that fits best, or the most cost-effective remedy.
  • Keeps tabs on the outcomes.

At the first stage, risk management is merely a matter of asking a series of simple questions, such as “What could break?,” “How could we fix it?” and “How could we pay for the fix?” Merely posing these questions will start your business on the road to sound risk management. Next, undertake a closer analysis of risk in three broad categories, each with several sub-categories: financial risks, operational risks and strategic risks.

Financial Risk

These risks, which arise from or threaten a firm’s capital, cash...

About the Author

Adam Jolly was the consultant editor for this collection of information from leading authorities at international companies, including Lloyd’s of London, Oxford Metrica, Zurich Risk Services, Ernst & Young, Strategic Thought, Ltd., The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, Continuity Systems, Ltd., Clifford Chance, British Standards Institution, Control Risks Group, Hiscox Insurance Company, ACE European Group, Bibby Financial Services and the Futures and Options Association.

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