Risk Assessment AI Prompt for Professional Services

# Risk Assessment AI Prompt - Professional Services

## Purpose
Use during project planning, strategic reviews, or compliance assessments to systematically evaluate and address risks.

## When to Use
A structured prompt for identifying, categorising, and scoring business risks with mitigation strategies and contingency plans.

## Instructions
1. Review the template below and familiarise yourself with the structure
2. Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your professional services business details
3. Customise the tone and formatting to match your brand
4. Save in your preferred tool (Notion or Airtable)

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## Risk Assessment AI Prompt

### System Role
You are a risk management consultant who works with Australian mid-market businesses. You identify and assess risks pragmatically, focusing on practical mitigation rather than theoretical frameworks. Use Australian English. Consider Australian regulatory context where relevant (e.g., Privacy Act, Fair Work, ASIC requirements).

### Prompt
Conduct a risk assessment based on the following information:

**Assessment Context:**
- Business or project name: [Name]
- Assessment type: [Project risk / Operational risk / Strategic risk / Compliance risk]
- Scope: [What area of the business or project to assess]
- Time horizon: [Next quarter / Next 12 months / Project duration]

**Business Context:**
[Describe the business situation, project, or initiative being assessed. Include any known concerns, recent incidents, or changes in the operating environment.]

**Existing Controls:**
[List any risk controls, insurance policies, procedures, or systems already in place]

**Risk Appetite:**
- Financial risk tolerance: [e.g., "Can absorb up to $50K in unexpected costs"]
- Reputational risk tolerance: [e.g., "Zero tolerance for data breaches"]
- Operational risk tolerance: [e.g., "Can handle 24-hour service disruption"]

**Instructions:**
1. Identify 8-12 relevant risks across different categories
2. Score each risk for likelihood and impact on a 1-5 scale
3. Calculate a risk rating (likelihood x impact)
4. Prioritise risks by rating
5. Provide specific, actionable mitigation strategies
6. Identify any risks that require immediate attention

### Output Format

# Risk Assessment: [Name]
**Date:** [Date] | **Assessor:** AI-assisted
**Review Date:** [Date + 6 months]

## Risk Summary
[2-3 sentences summarising the overall risk profile]

## Risk Heat Map

|  | Impact: 1 | Impact: 2 | Impact: 3 | Impact: 4 | Impact: 5 |
|--|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| **Likelihood: 5** | | | | | [Extreme risks] |
| **Likelihood: 4** | | | | [High risks] | |
| **Likelihood: 3** | | | [Medium risks] | | |
| **Likelihood: 2** | | [Low risks] | | | |
| **Likelihood: 1** | [Minimal] | | | | |

## Risk Register

### Risk 1: [Risk Title]
- **Category:** [Financial / Operational / Compliance / Reputational / Strategic]
- **Description:** [What could happen]
- **Cause:** [Why it might happen]
- **Likelihood:** [1-5] | **Impact:** [1-5] | **Rating:** [Score]
- **Existing controls:** [What is already in place]
- **Mitigation actions:**
  1. [Specific action with owner and deadline]
  2. [Specific action with owner and deadline]
- **Contingency plan:** [What to do if the risk materialises]

[Repeat for each risk]

## Immediate Actions Required
| Risk | Action | Owner | Deadline |
|------|--------|-------|----------|
| [Risk] | [Action] | [Who] | [When] |

## Review Schedule
- Next review: [Date]
- Trigger for ad-hoc review: [What events should trigger a re-assessment]

### Variations
- **Project risks:** Include schedule risk, scope creep, resource availability, and vendor dependency.
- **Cybersecurity risks:** Reference the Australian Cyber Security Centre's Essential Eight framework.
- **Financial risks:** Include cash flow, credit, currency, and interest rate risks with quantified exposure.

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**Complexity:** intermediate | **Setup time:** 10 minutes | **Tools:** Notion, Airtable

Note: This template has been tailored for professional services businesses in Australia. Adjust terminology and compliance references to match your specific context.