Description: There have been many examples of interest rate swap deals which have not produced the desired results for the end-user, largely due to unanticipated interest rate movements. While the authors of this paper strongly believe that derivatives, such as IR swaps, are powerful tools, which when used properly can effectively transfer risk and enhance the efficiency of markets, they also believe it is critically important to analyze the potential exposure to interest-rate risk. In this article, they provide the necessary background to measure this potential exposure.