The effective management of risk has become an essential boardroom issue. Companies now realize that while financial integrity and business continuity are still of primary importance, these must be considered alongside practical business risks, such as branding and reputation, employment practices, product liability, health and safety, fraud, intellectual property, customer loyalty and supply chains. Problems in any of these areas can undermine prospects for creating value and delivering earnings to forecast.  To manage business risk - and particularly in a challenging economic climate - it is imperative that a company's board is structured to provide clear controls on risks and to deliver transparent reporting to stakeholders. Passively complying with rules and regulations is no longer an option.  With a new foreword by Steve Fowler, CEO of the Institute of Risk Management, this practical guide to potential areas of risk within a business contains invaluable advice for directors of both large and small companies, bringing readers swiftly up to speed with the latest thinking and techniques for managing risk in a structured and integrated way