ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the approach of looking at risk from the perspective of the different stakeholder groups in an organisation that is used throughout the rest of the book. The chapter begins by looking at various ways in which risk may be defined. This is followed by a discussion of the risk perspectives of different stakeholder groups, focusing particularly on owners, senior managers and lenders. Crucially, it is acknowledged that there may be tensions between different stakeholder groups which will have to be managed. The chapter concludes by briefly reviewing some common risk measures and categorisations of risk that will be used in later chapters.
