What Is a Risk Register? How Businesses Use Risk Registers

In 2024, 83% of businesses reported that complex, interconnected risks were emerging more rapidly than in the past, according to a study by consulting firm Accenture. While dealing with disruptions might be a reality of doing business, companies can guard themselves against disaster by investing in risk management.

One way to get started is by creating a risk register—a running log of the potential risks your business might face, whether operational, technical, financial, or external. 

Here’s what’s included in a risk register, plus a guide for creating your own risk register.

What is a risk register?

A risk register, also known as a risk log, is a centralized document or database that catalogs all potential risks that could affect a specific project, business area, or a company at large. Each risk logged in the register includes a description, a category, an owner responsible for responding, the likelihood of the risk occurring, its potential impact, and a plan for how to respond. 

Businesses establish risk registers to proactively manage threats and avoid being caught off guard. Because a risk register is a living document, when a risk occurs you can record the event and the response to help your team handle it more effectively if it happens again.

How are risk registers used?

• Project management
• Operations and supply chain
• Finance and compliance
• IT and cybersecurity
• Human resources

Companies use risk registers to identify potential risks in nearly every area of their business. Here are some common risk categories to consider:

Project management

Project risk involves uncertainties that could delay timelines, inflate costs, or reduce the quality of deliverables. 

For example, if your ecommerce business is launching a new website, you might track risks like vendor delays, development errors, or compliance issues with payment gateways. Your company’s project managers could consult a project risk register to see what issues have occurred in the past and evaluate the likelihood of the same risk occurring during their upcoming endeavor.

Operations and supply chain

Operations managers may use risk registers to identify risks in the supply chain, such as manufacturing disruptions, inventory shortages, or logistical bottlenecks. For instance, supply team professionals might document potential risks like shipping delays due to extreme weather or stock shortages due to a sudden spike in product demand.

Finance and compliance

Businesses face a number of possible risks in the financial realm. These include late tax penalties, regulatory changes, fraud, and more. A risk register can help you prepare for these threats.

For instance, if your online store accepts international payments, you could use your risk register to log compliance risks tied to cross-border sales (e.g., regulatory changes to tariffs and new shipping restrictions on certain goods).

IT and cybersecurity

Cybersecurity risk management involves planning for scenarios like system outages, data breaches, ransomware attacks, and successful phishing attempts. 

You can use a risk register to note these potential risks, then develop a mitigation plan to ensure ecommerce security. That plan might include choosing a platform with SSL encryption, using malware protection software, and requiring employees to use strong passwords and multifactor authentication.

Human resources

Human resources teams might use a risk register to anticipate issues like high employee turnover, labor disputes, or worker shortages. 

For example, HR professionals might note the risk of worker shortages during the holiday season. By anticipating this risk event, the HR team can create a comprehensive risk management plan to minimize the chance of being short-staffed at the busiest time of the shopping year.

Benefits of risk registers

• Improved risk analysis
• Improved decision-making and prioritization
• Coordinated risk response activities
• Accumulated knowledge for future projects

A formal register is an excellent risk management tool because it combines predictive risk assessment with proactive strategies to mitigate risks and resolve risks if they occur. Here are four key benefits of an effective risk register:

Improved risk analysis

A risk register functions as a centralized database for your team to consult as it executes ongoing projects and plans new initiatives. 

Storing risk information in one database can help your team unlock deeper insight into both existing risks and potential future risks, since they’ll see detailed risk information about multiple aspects of the project. This can help the project team consider potential threats as early as the project planning phase. 

For instance, let’s say your retail team is considering a new point-of-sale (POS) system. Your risk register might reveal potential risks related to data security. The team can then address these vulnerabilities in its project plan by choosing a POS software with high security standards, thus minimizing the risk impact before proceeding too far down the road.

Improved decision-making and prioritization

Risk registers help you assess the risk level of different threats so that you can prioritize risks that are more likely to occur. (One way to do this is with a risk matrix that visually represents the severity of each threat.) Once you’ve prioritized risks, you can properly allocate resources to mitigate the business risks that pose the greatest threat to your business.

Coordinated risk response activities

A risk register enhances accountability and coordination by clearly documenting who is responsible for each threat. These risk owners will steer the response if the risk comes to bear. A risk register should also outline the specific steps your business will take should a risk materialize. 

Accumulated knowledge for future projects

Creating and maintaining a risk register lets you build an archive of past risks and responses, which you can then use for future projects. By reviewing a past register, a project team can gain insights into common pitfalls, improve its planning, and ideally mitigate risks from the outset.

Elements of a risk register

Each entry in a risk register should contain specific elements that collectively ensure comprehensive risk tracking and risk management plans. Here’s what to include:

• Risk identification. A unique identifier assigned to each risk for easy tracking.
• Risk description. A clear and concise statement of the risk, often written in the form of a cause-and-effect statement.
• Risk category. A broad classification noting the type of risk, such as operational, financial, or strategicw.
• Risk probability. The likelihood of the risk occurring, often rated on a scale (e.g., low, medium, high, or zero to 100); sometimes called a risk score.
• Risk analysis. A detailed assessment of the potential impact on the business if the risk occurs.
• Risk mitigation. Specific actions taken to reduce the probability or impact of the risk.
• Risk priority. A rating that considers both the risk’s probability and its impact if it occurs, used to determine how your team will prioritize mitigation and response efforts relative to those of other risks.
• Risk ownership. The person or department responsible for managing the risk.
• Risk status. The current state of the risk (e.g., open, in progress, or closed).
• Risk response plan. A detailed strategy for how the business will react if the risk materializes.

Here’s an example of a completed risk register:

• Risk ID: PM-007.
• Risk description: Our sole zipper supplier experiences a manufacturing issue, causing a delay in the delivery of a critical material for handbags.
• Risk category: Operational.
• Risk probability: Medium.
• Risk analysis: A two-week delay in zipper delivery would push back the launch of a new handbag line by one month and increase costs by 15%.
• Risk mitigation: Identify and vet a secondary supplier; purchase a small emergency stock of zippers.
• Risk priority: High (medium probability x high impact).
• Risk ownership: Head of Manufacturing and Head of Handbag Department.
• Risk status: Open, mitigation plan in progress.
• Risk response plan: Activate the contract with the secondary supplier and use the emergency stock to prevent a project delay.

How to create a risk register

1. Identify risks
2. Analyze each risk
3. Create a response plan
4. Assign ownership
5. Monitor and update

Now that you know what goes into a risk register, you’re ready to start evaluating risks in your own business and developing your own risk log. Here are the five steps:

1. Identify risks

The first step in creating a risk register is conducting a thorough risk assessment to brainstorm and identify all potential business risks. Look for risks in each of your business’s operational areas.

2. Analyze each risk

Analyze risks by assessing their risk probability and risk impact. You’ll use this information to assign a risk score. Ultimately, the goal is to focus your resources on risks that are most likely to occur and that pose the greatest threat to your operations.

3. Create a response plan

After prioritizing risks based on likelihood and severity, develop a risk response plan for each one. Each plan should delineate the specific actions your team will take to either prevent the risk from occurring or to minimize its impact if it does occur. 

Thorough response plans might involve plotting contingency actions, reallocating business resources, or training team members to resolve risks when they materialize.

4. Assign ownership

Next, you’ll designate a person responsible for each risk. Also known as a risk owner, this individual will regularly monitor the risk. Should the risk materialize, the risk owner will lead the response. 

Assigning risk owners prevents confusion and ensures that someone is always actively tracking the risk and its risk status. Risk owners also update the larger team about the status of the risks they’re responsible for and update statuses in the risk register from open to in progress to closed.

5. Monitor and update

A risk register is not a static document; it is a living file that requires continuous monitoring and updating. You should regularly review the register with your team to reassess risk levels. 

As projects evolve, new risks may emerge, and old risks may become irrelevant. An ongoing refinement process ensures that your register remains an accurate and valuable tool throughout the entirety of the project. Set a review cadence (e.g., weekly for projects, monthly for business-wide registers) and update ownership, status, and plans as conditions change.