Book excerpt: David J Gibbs has been working for many years in a variety of interesting organisations. These range from the electronics industry to finance and investment banking. His experiences have provided a full appreciation and understanding of how businesses have changed and evolved over the past decades. He emphasizes how important it is to recognise increased trends in outsourcing, advances in technology and ecommerce, management and workforce changes, customer expectations, trends in the UK economy and global market expectations, among many others. In addition to the above and impacting the majority of business entities, criminal behavior and cyber crime is growing with intensity and the impact of these risks should not be underestimated. Businesses should therefore ensure that they have the necessary preventative and monitoring measures in place to mitigate these risks. The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the key aspects and component parts to consider regarding effective business operations, governance and the protection of company and client assets. It is hoped that every level of reader within the business community from CEO to first level management, college /university students and members of the public, will use this book as a source of reference and that they will find the advice and guidelines informative and helpful. Happy Reading!