Expectations of Risk Management Outpacing Capabilities – It’s Time For Action

Risk management is at the top of the global executive agenda as companies face an array of threats that grow more complex by the day. The risks are multitudinous and ever-present, and those companies that fail to manage them well imperil their future. Many risks are posed by the challenge of complying with complicated, new government regulations drafted worldwide in the wake of the financial crisis, affecting all industries. The global economy remains fragile, the Eurozone wracked by a series of crises. Economic growth in the developed world is weak and faster-growing emerging markets are unfamiliar to many corporate executives. At the same time, companies have to contend with increasing competition, rapid technological change and the battle for talent.

These challenges are growing faster than most organizations'abilities to respond: today's complex environment requires an even stronger capability to master and optimize risk management. This is the main finding of a large-scale study of risk conducted by KPMG International, based on a global survey of 1,092 C-level respondents that was deployed by the Economist Intelligence Unit in December 2012. The aim was to find out about executives' perceptions of the risks facing their companies and their sense of how, and how well, their companies and industries are tackling them. We also interviewed senior executives in five major industries and turned to KPMG's Risk Consulting experts for their insights into risk management.