Protect Your Business with Comprehensive Risk Management
Blog post description.
7/17/20242 min read
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.”
— Warren Buffett
Disclaimer. The insights in this blog are for informational purposes only and should not replace professional legal, financial, or compliance advice. Always ensure your risk management activities align with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards.
Introduction
Every small business faces uncertainty — from cashflow hiccups to cyber threats and supply chain disruptions. The difference between surviving and thriving often comes down to how well you prepare. A comprehensive risk management framework enables you to:
Protect your financial stability, reputation, and people
Reduce the impact of disruptive events
Make confident, informed decisions that support growth
Whether you operate in Perth, serve clients across Australia, or work with global partners, embedding practical risk management into daily operations gives you clarity, resilience, and control.
Strategy 1: Define your risk context and appetite
Clarify your business context: Outline your objectives, critical processes, and key dependencies (e.g., suppliers, systems, people).
Set your appetite: Decide what levels of risk are acceptable in categories like financial, operational, cyber, compliance, safety, and reputation.
Establish thresholds: Use clear Red/Amber/Green triggers for when action or escalation is required.
Engage stakeholders: Involve leadership, team members, and advisers to ensure alignment.
Document it: Keep your appetite statement visible and refer to it in decision-making.
Strategy 2: Identify, assess, and prioritise key risks
Gather inputs: Host risk workshops, review incident logs, analyse customer feedback, and check supplier reliability.
Score each risk: Rate the likelihood and impact using a simple 1–5 scale for each.
Map your risks: Plot them on a heat map to visualise where the biggest threats lie.
Prioritise action: Address high-impact, high-likelihood risks first; monitor lower ones.
Update regularly: Review your register quarterly or after significant changes.
Strategy 3: Treat risks and monitor controls
Select your treatment: Avoid, Reduce, Transfer (e.g., insurance), or Accept — with monitoring.
Build your control library: Include preventive, detective, and corrective measures with assigned owners.
Test controls: Schedule regular checks to ensure controls work as intended.
Track metrics: Monitor control health, incident trends, and time-to-recover for key processes.
Report consistently: Use a simple dashboard to keep leaders informed and accountable.
Implementation checklist
Draft and approve a one-page risk appetite statement
Identify and score your top 10 business risks
Document at least three key controls for each high-priority risk
Schedule monthly risk reviews and quarterly scenario tests
Set up a dashboard for control health, incidents, and open actions
Next steps
Define your top 5–10 risks and assign owners.
Finalise your appetite statement and create your risk register.
Test at least one critical incident scenario and update controls based on findings.
Useful AI prompts
“Create a risk appetite statement template for a small Perth-based business.”
“Draft a simple 5×5 risk matrix for financial, operational, and cyber risks.”
“Suggest three preventative controls for avoiding supply chain disruptions.”
“Write an incident log template for tracking operational issues.”
“Generate a quarterly risk dashboard summary highlighting trends and escalations.”
About Mission Command Business
Mission Command Business equips small enterprises with strategic frameworks and operational tools. From financial management and business direction & support, to people & workplace management, and systems & processes, we help you unlock sustainable growth and lasting impact.