RISK: Possibility of a negative event occurringOPPORTUNITY: Potential for a positive event to occur
UNCERTAINTY: Term encompassing risks and opportunities
Risk management (where should we say "uncertainty"?) puts in place a philosophy, framework and methodology that allows your company to assess opportunities (positive aspect) and risks (negative aspect) in order to achieve the objectives set, even if day-to-day events do not always meet expectations. It also helps you define the level of risk you are willing to take to achieve these objectives.
In life, not everything goes as planned. The same is true for companies: a major employee resigns in the middle of a major project. A manufacturing machine is damaged during production. A major supplier goes bankrupt. A long-standing customer moves to competition.
Risk management consists of continuously analysing and evaluating possible events, actions and developments that would prevent the company from achieving its objectives and strategy, and proposes a series of solutions to reduce (or eliminate where feasible) the possibility of a risk occurring, and/or the degree of its impact.