The FISMA Focus IPD

From: CGMA Magazine

By Ken Tysiac

Regulatory changes and scrutiny are the risks business leaders are most concerned about for 2014, according to a new survey conducted by North Carolina State University’s Enterprise Risk Management Initiative and consultant Protiviti.

“It’s a message for policymakers,” said Jim DeLoach, CPA, a Protiviti managing director. “… The bottom line is, it does have a cost in that it does affect business and it does affect decision-making around hiring and investing.”

The survey, now in its second year, took responses from 370 executives and board members about the risks that concerned them most.

Although regulatory concerns decreased a bit from the previous year (to 6.4 from 6.8 on a scale of 1 to 10), they were the top concern for four of the six industry groups in the global survey, and especially worrisome for respondents in the financial services and health-care sectors.

Economic conditions were the No. 2 risk, but they experienced a significant decrease in concern level to 5.7 from 6.5 in 2013.

“The percentage year-over-year growth is not as robust as executives had gotten used to [before the financial crisis],” DeLoach said.

Just one of the top ten risks saw an increase in concern level, indicating an overall business environment that’s perceived to be slightly less risky than a year ago. The top ten risks are as follows:

1. Regulatory changes and heightened regulatory scrutiny may affect the manner in which our products or services will be produced or delivered. Score (out of 10): 6.4, down from 6.8 in 2013.
2. Economic conditions in markets we currently serve will significantly restrict growth opportunities for our organisation. Score: 5.7, down from 6.5 in 2013.
3. Uncertainty surrounding political leadership in national and international markets will limit growth opportunities. Score: 5.6, down from 6.0 in 2013.
4. Succession challenges and the ability to attract and retain top talent may limit our ability to achieve operational targets. Score: 5.5, representing no change from 2013.
5. Organic growth through customer acquisition and/or enhancement presents a significant challenge. Score: 5.3, down from 5.5 in 2013.
6. Cyber-threats have the potential to significantly disrupt core operations for our organisation. Score: 5.3, down from 5.4 in 2013.

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