How to use Tax Risk Management processes to identify and prioritize risk

How should tax risks be analyzed?
Once identified, tax risks should be quantified along two dimensions, impact and likelihood, before a detailed analysis of the risks is performed. The impact of a risk denotes the consequences of its realization. For instance, if a risky event is realized, this realization may cause the business to be subject to tax-related interest and penalties.
Furthermore, while the realization of tax risks will generally have a negative impact on the business’s after-tax earnings, numerous spillover effects may also occur. These spillover effects may include degradation in the business’s revenue, profits, reputation with customers and reputation with suppliers. It is important to include spillover effects when quantifying the impact of tax-related risks.
The likelihood of a risk is the probability or chance that it may occur. Likelihood is a function of the business’s internal environment, including the tone at the top set by management and the board of directors; business’s organizational structure; chain of communication; assignment and authority of responsibility; human resources policies and practices; and the culture of risk awareness present at the organization. It is also a function of the controls designed to mitigate the likelihood of risky events, including the implementation of risk assessment and monitoring policies.
Lastly, the likelihood of risky events is dependent on the business’s external environment, including its susceptibility to regulatory changes and shifts in its competitive landscape.
What types of tax risks should businesses prioritize?
Businesses should prioritize high impact/high likelihood tax risks, as these risks present the greatest exposure to the organization. High impact/high likelihood risks may be known to the organization due to their frequency of occurrence, but they must be properly mitigated to ensure the business does not suffer frequent, severe consequences. High impact/low likelihood risks, including ‘Black Swan’ events are also of high importance. A business is often highly vulnerable to such risks as employees may be unfamiliar with their occurrence, and proper ways to mitigate these risks in the event they arise.