ABSTRACT

Question: what do all these have in common – a torrential rainstorm, an economic downturn, a journalist in search of a scandal? Answer: they all pose potential risks to business archives. Although archivists are experts in managing the past we have not yet evolved the ability to predict the future and avoid all the risks it may bring. However, we can develop skills and procedures to help us cope with anything nasty lurking around the corner. Risk management is a way of looking at the activities, processes and projects we undertake and finding strategies to increase our prospects of success in an uncertain world.