Never before has the word ?extreme? been so trendy.You can buy ?extreme?:- videos, surfing, clothing, skating, shopping, shoes, pop bands, music, sports and now you can even get extreme accounting (just how reckless can accountants get?)Extreme is becoming another way of saying for doing something a little bit different, but it actually means: - to go as far from the centre of some thing as you possibly can.Extremists are thought to be; reckless, out of their heads or even insane to do what they do. Take for example; extreme mountain climbers ? who regularly goclimb without safety ropes, or canoeists who decide to take on the biggest waterfalls and rapids or mountain bikers who throw themselves and their equipment down the sides of steep hills as fast as they can.Do people do it because they want to die? or do they do it knowing the risks that they are taking'No one in their right minds would ski off a steep hillside unless they knew how to manage the risks they are taking and the precautions they would have to take to protect themselves.Like many things sporting, they transfer equally well to the world and a whole industry has grown up around ?risk assessments? and ?risk management?With most things driven by consultancy firms, ?risk? has become more complicated than it should be.The basic truth is that risk assessment is just about identifying the things which, if happen, can cause disruption.In business terms - unless everyone needs to abseil down the side of your offices, the problems will mainly be split into 3 areas: - ?the work which is undertaken, ?the people who do the work and?The clients for whom the work is done.The risks may not be as obvious as a or the canoeists, but identifying what could go wrong, evaluating how these things should be managed, then implementing strategies to deal with those risks is the key to keeping the business alive.The danger that needs to be recognised - is anything that prevents the business from achieving it's objectives. These can be anything from: staffing, money laundering and fraud to accidents, natural causes and disasters as well as terrorist attacks on the business.Businesses need to find a way to manage and solve the problems inherent in these risks. Unfortunately, not all risk is as obvious as a high mountain or dangerous looking dog. Criminals and fraudsters are devious and clever and your business must be constantly on the look out. You need to develop policies, procedures and training to cope with constantly changing risk.How will you do that? Will you get external providers to deliver training? Will that be expensive? Or will you rely on your existing staff members to develop training? And what will that cost in lost productivity and focus on the day job.Whatever you decide make sure you keep your eyes on the risks facing your business