The Changing Landscape of Business Risk

In the modern era, the pace of business is fast – but the pace of technological change is even faster.

As a result, the landscape of business risks is constantly shifting and changing, and both entrepreneurs and investors need to be on top of the potential factors that could disrupt their chances of success. At the same time, they also need to be prepared to address and mitigate new risks as they crop up.

TODAY'S BIGGEST RISKS

Today's infographic comes to us from Raconteur, and it highlights the forces that have been shaping the business risk landscape – both today and as projected for the future.

Using data from the 2017 Global Risk Management Survey done by insurance company Aon, it shows the top business risks according to 1,843 risk decision-makers from 33 industry sectors in over 60 countries.

Here were the top risks from 2017, as well as the corresponding portion of business leaders that said they were prepared for each risk:

Rank (2017) Business Risk Readiness #1 Damage to reputation/brand 51% #2 Economic slowdown/slow recovery 30% #3 Increasing competition 45% #4 Regulatory/legislative changes 44% #5 Cybercrime, hacking, viruses, malicious codes 79% #6 Failure to innovate/meet customer needs 59% #7 Failure to attract or retain talent 57% #8 Business interruption 67% #9 Political risk/uncertainties 27% #10 Third-party liability 70%

The insurer noted that many of these top business risks were uninsurable – and that in general, that such risks are continuing to gain precedence.

FUTURE BUSINESS RISK

Interestingly, the survey also asked respondents to predict the risks in 2020 based on current trends and conditions.