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IPCC advocates immediate action on climate change
Global temperatures are likely to rise by over 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels over the next few decades, according to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). But if governments and industry take immediate and rapid action to slash greenhouse gas emissions temperatures could be held to about that level. It called for…
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UK Government digital transformation faces acute challenges
The UK Government’s digital transformation project faces acute challenges, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO, which reports independently on government initiatives, found that most of the Government’s 11 digital strategies over the past decade focused too much on front-end systems while failing to tackle underlying complex systems. “Our work over the…
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Mergers and acquisitions emphasise role of ESG
Pundits expects global merger and acquisition (M&A) to increase in the second half of 2023 and they expect that environmental and social governance (ESG) to play a larger role in due diligence. While investors said M&A deals would rise in 2023, the threat of recession, rising interest rates and geopolitical tension remain threats, according to the…
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Audit committees focusing on risk management
Audit committees are increasingly focusing on risk management this year, according to two leading surveys of executives. Enterprise risk management (ERM) ranked second (45 per cent) – behind cybersecurity (63 per cent) – as one of their top areas of focus in 2023, according to a survey by Deloitte and the Center for Audit Quality in…
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Third-party errors hit operational flow
Third party errors have hit the operational flow of over eight in ten businesses (84 per cent), according to a pole of executive risk committees. Impacts include operational disruptions, financial or reputational loss and increased scrutiny from regulars – sometimes leading to regulatory action (34 per cent), according to the researcher Gartner. On the rise The…
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Mixed messages over business confidence
Surveys are showing mixed messages over business confidence making it difficult to predict investment trends. In the UK, for example, Lloyds bank said that business confidence was up by 23 per cent at the beginning of 2023. The jump in economic optimism was greater at 47 per cent. These results reflect the growing belief that any recession…
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Cyber risk, business interruption and talent rank as top 2023 risks
Risk managers rated cyber risk and business interruption as the top risks facing their organisations in 2023, according to a survey by the insurer Allianz. Almost neck and neck in its annual survey, the report said that the two threats are closely related. “Cyber risk and business interruption are closely linked, with cyber also ranking as…
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Compliance fines bite financial services firms
Compliance fines and regulatory lapses continued to bite financial services firms hard in 2022. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the industry watchdog, posted over £215 million worth of fines on its website for 2022. Santander received the biggest fine of the year – £107 million for poor anti-money laundering controls over a period stretching from 2012…
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Cost-of-living crisis tops global risk report
The cost-of-living crisis has topped the World Economic Forum’s 2023 report – up from second place in 2023. It was cited as the number one risk over the next two years followed by natural disasters and geoeconomic confrontation. Geopolitcal risk failed to make the top ten last year. Old and new merge “As 2023 begins, the world…
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Businesses are out of step on biodiversity
Businesses are out of step on biodiversity as the world sets landmark targets to address the issue. Nations agreed to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030 at December 2022’s COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada. Participants decided to halt species extinction and maintain genetic diversity by improving ecosystems around the…
