Risk score examples for business decisions
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Three scored examples show how a risk score works: a key hire at 0.36, a supplier contract at 0.37, and a property purchase at 0.44.
- Each risk scores likelihood times impact, each rated from 1 to 5.
- The index divides the total by 25 per risk, and the highest single score is read beside it.
- A detectability factor halves a quality drift score from 48 to 24.
- The EQOS Asia Audit pillar lists the 3 priority risks (EQOS Asia method page, as of October 2026).
A risk score is easier to learn from examples than from definitions. This page scores three different decisions, a key hire, a supplier contract, and a property purchase, with the same two scales and shows how the results compare, as of October 2026. All figures are illustrative. The method comes from the risk scoring model, and the examples show how it behaves in practice.
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What does a risk score look like on a single risk?
A risk score multiplies likelihood by impact, each rated from 1 to 5. A risk rated 3 for likelihood and 4 for impact scores 12 out of a maximum of 25. The two ratings come with a sentence each: why the likelihood is 3, and what the impact of 4 means in money, time, or reputation. Without those sentences the number cannot be reviewed.
Each decision then collects 5 or so scored risks. Their scores are added and divided by the maximum possible, which is 25 per risk, to give an index between 0 and 1. The index summarises the exposure of the whole decision, and the single highest score shows the sharpest risk. Both are read together.
What are the risk scores for hiring a key executive?
Take a senior hire. Cultural mismatch scores 3 and 4, which makes 12. Early departure scores 2 and 5, which makes 10. A compensation overrun scores 3 and 3, which makes 9. Ramp-up delay scores 4 and 2, which makes 8. A thin reference check scores 2 and 3, which makes 6.
The total is 45, and the index is 45 divided by 125, or 0.36. The highest single score is 12. The cultural mismatch leads, and its mitigation is cheap: a structured conversation with three future colleagues before the offer. The hire is a moderate-risk decision that a few concrete steps can improve, and the owner of each step is named in the register.
What are the risk scores for signing a supplier contract?
Take a three-year supply contract. A price rise scores 4 and 3, which makes 12. Quality drift scores 3 and 4, which makes 12. A delivery delay scores 3 and 3, which makes 9. Lock-in scores 2 and 4, which makes 8. Supplier insolvency scores 1 and 5, which makes 5.
The total is 46, and the index is 0.37. This profile looks like the hire, yet its risks are different in kind. Two risks tie at 12, so a price cap and an acceptance inspection address both, and the insolvency risk, although it scores only 5, deserves a back-up supplier because its impact is a 5. A single point of failure rarely shows in the index, which is why the top score stays on the sheet.
What are the risk scores for a property purchase?
Take an investment purchase. An interest rate rise scores 4 and 4, which makes 16. Vacancy scores 3 and 4, which makes 12. A valuation drop scores 2 and 5, which makes 10. Repair costs score 3 and 3, which makes 9. A regulation change scores 2 and 4, which makes 8.
The total is 55, and the index is 0.44, the highest of the three examples. The highest single score is 16. The rate risk alone dominates, so a fixed-rate loan or a smaller loan is the first step. The same index in a different mix would call for different actions, which is why the individual scores stay visible.
How do you compare risk scores across different decisions?
Compare the index and the highest single score, side by side. The hire has an index of 0.36 and a top score of 12. The supplier contract has 0.37 and 12. The property purchase has 0.44 and 16. The property purchase carries the most exposure on both measures and is the one to review first.
Attach a rule to each measure. For example, proceed when the index stays below 0.40 and no single score reaches 15. The hire and the contract pass. The property purchase fails on both counts and returns to the team with a request for mitigations. A rule fixed in advance keeps the discussion on the facts.
How does a detectability rating change a risk score?
Some teams add a third factor, detectability, rated from 1 for easy to catch early to 5 for hard to see. The score then becomes likelihood times impact times detectability, with a maximum of 125. Quality drift in the supplier contract scores 3, 4, and 4, which makes 48 because it is hard to see.
An acceptance inspection on each delivery lowers detectability from 4 to 2, and the score halves to 24. The change shows the value of monitoring in a number, and it argues for spending on detection when prevention is expensive. Use the third factor only if the team will rate it consistently.
How does the EQOS Asia decision engine relate to these risk scores?
These scores come from people rating risks one by one. The EQOS Asia Audit pillar measures the situation as a whole on 9 structural dimensions, returns a φ(S) score between 0 and 1, and lists the 3 priority risks (EQOS Asia method page, as of October 2026). A score below 0.618 falls in the STOP zone.
A reader can try a first score in the simulator on a real decision and set it beside the risk index. When the two disagree, the team has found an assumption worth checking, and the discussion that follows is often the most useful part of the exercise. Repeat the comparison each quarter while the decision is open, and record how the scores and the index move.
See also in this guide
Frequently asked questions
What is an example of a risk score?
A risk rated 3 for likelihood and 4 for impact scores 12 out of a maximum of 25. A cultural mismatch in a senior hire is one such risk. Each rating comes with a sentence of evidence so that a reviewer can check where the 3 and the 4 came from.
How do you add risk scores into an index?
Add the scores of all risks of the decision and divide by the maximum possible, which is 25 times the number of risks. Five risks give a maximum of 125. A total of 45 gives an index of 0.36. Read the index together with the highest single score.
What is a good risk score threshold?
The threshold is a rule that the team sets before scoring, for example an index below 0.40 and no single score of 15 or more. Fixing it in advance keeps the debate on the facts. Adjust the rule to the cash reserve and the importance of the decision.
Can the EQOS Asia pre-diagnostic score the same decision?
Yes. The free 30-minute pre-diagnostic applies the EQOS Asia equation to your decision across 9 dimensions and names the 3 priority risks. It runs by video in Singapore time (SGT) under NDA, and it gives a second view beside your risk index (EQOS Asia contact page, as of October 2026).
Test your knowledge
1. What is the maximum score of one risk on two 5-level scales?
- 10
- 25
- 125
Show the answer
25.
2. What is the index of the key hire?
- 0.36
- 0.44
- 0.37
Show the answer
0.36.
3. Which decision has the highest index in the examples?
- Supplier contract
- Key hire
- Property purchase
Show the answer
Property purchase.
4. What is the top risk of the property purchase?
- Vacancy
- Interest rate rise
- Repair costs
Show the answer
Interest rate rise.
5. What does the acceptance inspection change?
- Impact
- Likelihood
- Detectability
Show the answer
Detectability.
About the author
Stéphane Jambu
President, EQOS Forecast Asia
Stéphane Jambu leads EQOS Forecast Asia and works as a consultant in e-commerce, search visibility, and AI. LinkedIn profile
Sources: EQOS Asia method page (eqos-asia.com/method.html), simulator page (eqos-asia.com/simulator.html), and contact page (eqos-asia.com/contact.html), consulted on 22 October 2026. Page updated on 22 October 2026.