If you wonder what risks might threaten your enterprise, here is a list of over 100 of the possibilities.

1. An Admittedly Incomplete List of Business Components and Possible Risks
Page 1
Business Components
Long-term/Strategic Plan
Long-term/Strategic Plan not reflected in operational plans
Personnel – Availability to Contribute
Disability
Death
Family crisis
Resignation
Finances/Cash Flow
Revenue shortfall
Increasing costs
Delayed payments
Illegal acts reduce cash
Unexpected expenses
Short term cash flow shortfall
Longer term cash flow shortfall
Marketing Effectiveness
Low response to website
Low response to other collateral
Inquiries not related to products or services
Internet presence has gaps
Website not available to Internet users
Website hacked
Search engines do not rank website high
Marketing messages not effective
Target markets poorly defined
Competitive Position/Pricing
Prices not competitive
Marketing messages weak compared to competition
Product/service reviewers prefer competitor offerings
Sales
Sales below targets
Sales calls below targets
Closing ratio below target
Difficulty in getting appointments
Sales collateral not generating inquiries
Investor Confidence
Investors have lost interest
Inability to gain interest of new investors
Investors express concerns that must be addressed
Major plans and initiatives
Salt Marsh Solutions, Inc. 2012

2. An Admittedly Incomplete List of Business Components and Possible Risks
Page 2
Required resources not available
Tasks not clearly defined
Schedule not clearly defined
External dependencies not agreed upon
Status reporting is ineffective
Issues not being resolved quickly
Obsoleted by external events
Negative impact on externals (environment, etc.)
Unfavorable media coverage
Regulatory inspections require rework
Stability & Predictability of Market(s)
Market moving to new products/services
Market distracted by external events
Market expectations are changing
New competitors are disrupting market
Government regulations affecting market predictability
Supply Chain
Supplier quality is decreasing
Supplier experiencing business difficulties
Supplier missing schedule commitments
Supplier changing terms and conditions
Prices are increasing
Facilities/Infrastructure
Facility not available for use
Facility experiences security breach
Contents damaged or destroyed
Vital records not recoverable
Quality of Products/Services
Customer/client complaints/cancellations
Rework/call-backs exceed tolerance levels
Production processes disrupted due to quality issues
Insurance Coverage
Premiums increased
Coverage dropped
Coverage dependent upon required changes
Distribution Channels
Distribution channel underperforming
Distribution channel damaging brand
Distribution channel terminating
Distribution channel experiencing poor PR
Inventory
Spoilage
Salt Marsh Solutions, Inc. 2012

3. An Admittedly Incomplete List of Business Components and Possible Risks
Page 3
Inventory levels too high
Inventory levels too low
Pilferage
Unexplained losses
Production Processes
Quality out of tolerance
Production stoppages due to materials
Unbalanced production line flow
Production stoppages due to maintenance
Production stoppages due to lack of skilled personnel
Product/Service Obsolescence
Improved competition
New competition
Market shift to different solutions/products
Credit Rating
Unexplained credit downgrade
Ability to pay threatened
Staff Experience/Expertise
Cannot find employees with basic skills
Cannot find employees with technical skills
Losing skilled employees to competitors
Employees leaving after training
Commitments to Customers
Unable to meet commitments to customers
Employees making commitments we cannot meet
Business Operations
Workflow processes are error prone and inefficient
Production scheduling processes lead to lost time and rework
Rework at unacceptible levels
Compliance with Regulatory Requirements
Changing requirements
Varying interpretations of requirements
Additional procedures to follow
Ability to Anticipate Taxes
Changing tax laws and interpretations
Internet/Mobile Presence
Accessibility by new devices
Browser variations do not display properly
Search Engine Optimization
Salt Marsh Solutions, Inc. 2012

4. An Admittedly Incomplete List of Business Components and Possible Risks
Page 4
Public Relations
PR gaffe
Criticism in the (normal) media
Criticism in social media
Partner Relationships
Misplaced trust
Partners violate agreements
Computer Systems and Data
Computer data losses cannot be recovered
Computer virus/malware infects computer systems
Employees do not follow privacy policy
Employees do not follow safe computing policies
Governance
Board meetings are often cancelled
Agenda items are frequently deferred
Board composition lacks independent views
Fidicuiary responsibilities (if applicable)
Staff do not understand fidicuiary responsibilities
Documentation does not support proper execution of
fidicuiary responsibilities
Security
Breach of physical security
Breach of cyber security
Employees undermine security measures
Salt Marsh Solutions, Inc. 2012