The book covers risk management describing the tools and methods to reduce the occurrence and the consequences of risk. It particularly includes the financial management of construction projects from raising funding, to contract strategy through estimating, budgeting and cost control. The book's primary readers will be project managers acting for the client employed by an independent project management company or a project manager from within the client's own staff.

The book was developed from the lecture notes and module material written by the author for the University of Salford's MSc courses in Construction and Project Management being aimed at those practicing in, or studying to enter, the profession of project management.

The contents are structured as follows:

Part 1 Construction Risk Management:
Chapter 1 Risk Management in Construction Projects;
Chapter 2 Risk Identification Planning;
Chapter 3 Qualitative Risk Analysis and Quantitative Risk Evaluation;
Chapter 4 Risk response planning, monitoring and control;
Chapter 5 Construction prime contracting and the importance of risk management in international projects.

Part 2 Financial management:
Chapter 6 Financing of construction projects;
Chapter 7 Financial assessment and performance of projects;
Chapter 8 Advances in contract strategy;
Chapter 9 Estimating, budgeting and cost control

Some of the chapter topics naturally lead on one to another.Howevere there is purposely a small amount of repetition to allow the reader to consider each topic area individually without having to read the whole book in a mechanistic way.

Clearly, in today's economic climate the need for a closer understanding of the relationship between the two inter-related topics of risk and financial management is becoming increasingly critical. Achieving the objectives of the investor, the end-user and the constructor and their supply chain members all require the management of finances and the management of risk. As such the book discusses the relationship between the project's task of balancing time, cost and quality with the need to satisfy the client's requirements. This need to be undertaken efficiently, effectively and professionally whilst trying to contribute to the contractor's future sustainability. In other words there are two issues to balance - the project one of time, cost and quality; and the second one of business relationships of customer satisfaction and the contractor's shareholder expectations of returning an acceptable profit on the work carried out.

Applying the proverb "a picture is worth a thousand words" this book will be well liked by those who find the use of models, charts, tables, figures, bullet-pointed lists applicable to their learning preference. The author has used these varied means of communication extensively..

Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn is Principal Management Consultant at the risk management consultancy company, Risktec Solutions Limited, and a Visiting Professor at the Salford University Business School

Aled Williams, Deputy Director

Centre for Education in the Built Environment (Construction, Surveying & Real Estate)

University of Salford