Risk Management – what’s your plan? How do you manage risk in your business? You can’t expect the unexpected, but you might be able to put plans in place to limit risk and strengthen resilience.

As a business owner, you are constantly assessing and managing risk, balancing likely costs against potential profit.

What constitutes a risk to your business? It could be as straightforward as a tax bill you didn’t expect or as comprehensive as natural disaster. The impact could range from easily managed to devastating. It’s important to assess the type and level of risk and develop strategies to cope.

Take a common-sense survey of your business to check everything that could damage your business and take some sensible precautions.

Some of this is straightforward - if you know how much your monthly wages bill is, you know that amount must be there for payday. Some things you can plan for; others you can’t, such as fire, quake, or weather. However, you can consider how to minimize possible damage and take out appropriate insurance.

Run a risk audit. Touch base with advisors to make sure you cover everything. Assess whether insurance cover is adequate. Run regular checks to ensure the systems in place continue to be practical for the risks that face your business.

If your business has a board of directors or a family advisory board, at the next meeting look at the systems to assess and manage risk along with monitoring factors which affect business performance.

We can assist you to conduct a risk assessment on your business and help you develop appropriate strategies. Ask us for a checklist to help you get the process started.