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Complexity of inter-connected risks on the rise
UK businesses are most concerned about economic and financial risk (43 per cent), cyber-risk (39 per cent) and people risk (38 per cent), according to a report by Marsh McLennan. But it is the inter-connected nature of such risks that has risen up the agenda. Analysis of each individual risk category revealed the way that those…
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Fraud and error cost UK up to £81 billion annually
The UK lost an estimated £55 billion-£81 billion of taxpayers’ money to fraud and error in 2023-2024, according to the government financial watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO). The money that has been detected as lost amounted to £13 billion. Most of that (£9 billion) related to money that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) knows that it…
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Most FTSE 100 firms fear supply chain threat
Most (72 per cent) FTSE 100 companies rate supply chain risk as a principal threat to their organisations, according to research by Boston Consulting group Inverto. “The severity – and short notice – of disruptions in the Suez Canal and Red Sea were real wake-up calls for businesses,” said Lina Tilley, principal at Inverto. “They were…
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Boards focus on skills for technological innovation
Boards are seeking to acquire or boost their skills on corporate strategy (30 per cent) and technology implementation (31 per cent) – tied with industry specialisation – as emerging technologies pave a path to growth, according to the 2024 BDO board survey. In addition, 27 per cent said they were looking to increase cybersecurity skills as…
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US executives fear recession
A growing number of US executives said that they feared recession no matter who won the recent presidential election, according to PWC’s pulse survey. Even though the Federal Reserve cut interest rates in September and inflation is low, 61 per cent of respondents agreed that the US economy would experience recession in the coming six months, compared with…
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Organisations restricting use of social media
The Guardian newspaper in the UK is the latest in a line of organisations that have either quit social media platforms or reassessed the way that they and their staff use them. In November 2024, the Guardian announced that it would no longer have an official presence on X, formerly Twitter, saying it had become a “toxic…
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Financial markets need rewriting for net zero
While many organisations are investing heavily in net zero initiatives, the investment case is not well-understood and insufficient capital flows are slowing down the scale and speed of transition, according to the Business breakthrough barometer. “We need a fundamental rewiring of the financial markets to tilt their capital allocation and valuation incentives toward the scaling of…
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EU risk preparedness outpaced by potential threats
While the European Union (EU) is more prepared to deal with major crises than it was five years ago, the complex risk landscape has outpaced the body’s speed in dealing with them, according to a report published by the European Commission (EC). While risks such as climate change and war affect the whole of region, report…
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CROs focused on short-term initiatives
Chief risk officers (CROs) said they were more involved in supporting their organisations’ short-term goals for innovation and growth rather than longer-term strategies, according to a study by the World Economic Forum. For example, 81 per cent of CROs said that they were focused on exploring new partnerships and alliances for their organisations today, compared with…
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Top risk categories relatively stable
Climate change, cybersecurity, geopolitical stability and other key risks have remained at the top of insurance survey rankings over the past four to five years, according to Axa future risk report 2024. Climate change, for example, has been the number one risk organisations say they face since 2021. And even though recently there has been a…
