Deloitte: Key global risks not monitored

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

Fewer than 25 percent of United States executives, including many working at multinational companies, report that their global organizations continuously monitor risk. A new survey from Deloitte & Touche LLP in the U.S. and Forbes Insights, entitled Aftershock: Adjusting to the New World of Risk Management, also reveals the majority of respondents anticipate the global economic environment to remain the greatest source of risk through 2015, more than one in four (27 percent) predict risks posed by social media would play an increasingly important role.

The top areas of concern regarding increased volatility over the next three years included financial risk (66 percent of respondents), followed by strategic risk (63 percent) and operational risk (58 percent).

More than 50 percent of executives surveyed believe that regulatory, technological, and geopolitical risk will increase in volatility, and 55 percent of executives surveyed reported that their organizations will revamp their risk approach within the next 12 months. Roughly nine in 10 executives (91 percent) reported that they plan to reorganize their approach to risk management in some form over the next three years.

Risk management has become a C-suite issue. Of those surveyed, 26 percent said that the main responsibility for overall risk management belongs to the chief executive officer, with 23 percent assigning this responsibility to the chief financial officer or treasurer. Interestingly, the chief risk officer or head of risk came in third place, with 19 percent.

Respondents indicated that strategic risk and technology risk were the two areas where budgets will increase the most. Approximately 50 percent of respondents said that they expect minimal change to risk management budgets across the board. Fewer than 15 percent of respondents across all risk areas said risk budgets would decrease over the next three years.