Economy, Cyber Threats and Talent Dominate List of Critical Near-Term Risks for Boards and Executives, Protiviti and North Carolina State University Survey Finds
Economic uncertainty remains the primary concern for global business leaders, according to a new survey by Protiviti and North Carolina State University's ERM Initiative. The 13th annual survey, polling 1,215 board members and C-suite executives worldwide, assessed 32 risks over near-term (2-3 years) and long-term (decade) horizons.
The top three near-term risks identified are: economic conditions including inflationary pressures, cyber threats, and talent-related challenges. Notably, resistance to change dropped from 4th place in 2023 to 17th in 2024, suggesting improved organizational resilience.
For the 2035 outlook, key concerns remain consistent: economic conditions and inflationary pressures lead macroeconomic risks, regulatory changes top strategic risks, and cyber threats dominate operational risks. The survey also highlights emerging concerns about geopolitical shifts (22% of executives), customer loyalty (22%), and supply chain issues (16%).
L'incertezza economica rimane la principale preoccupazione per i leader aziendali globali, secondo un nuovo sondaggio condotto da Protiviti e dall'ERM Initiative della North Carolina State University. Il 13° sondaggio annuale, che ha coinvolto 1.215 membri del consiglio e dirigenti di alto livello in tutto il mondo, ha valutato 32 rischi su orizzonti a breve termine (2-3 anni) e a lungo termine (decennio).
I tre principali rischi a breve termine identificati sono: condizioni economiche, comprese le pressioni inflazionistiche, minacce informatiche e sfide legate al talento. È interessante notare che la resistenza al cambiamento è scesa dal 4° posto nel 2023 al 17° nel 2024, suggerendo un miglioramento della resilienza organizzativa.
Per le prospettive del 2035, le preoccupazioni chiave rimangono costanti: le condizioni economiche e le pressioni inflazionistiche guidano i rischi macroeconomici, i cambiamenti normativi sono i principali rischi strategici e le minacce informatiche dominano i rischi operativi. Il sondaggio evidenzia anche preoccupazioni emergenti riguardo ai cambiamenti geopolitici (22% degli dirigenti), la fedeltà dei clienti (22%) e i problemi della catena di approvvigionamento (16%).
La incertidumbre económica sigue siendo la principal preocupación para los líderes empresariales globales, según una nueva encuesta realizada por Protiviti y la Iniciativa ERM de la Universidad Estatal de Carolina del Norte. La 13ª encuesta anual, que consultó a 1,215 miembros de juntas y ejecutivos de alto nivel en todo el mundo, evaluó 32 riesgos en horizontes a corto plazo (2-3 años) y a largo plazo (década).
Los tres principales riesgos a corto plazo identificados son: condiciones económicas, incluidas las presiones inflacionarias, amenazas cibernéticas y desafíos relacionados con el talento. Notablemente, la resistencia al cambio cayó del 4° lugar en 2023 al 17° en 2024, lo que sugiere una mejora en la resiliencia organizacional.
Para las perspectivas de 2035, las preocupaciones clave siguen siendo consistentes: las condiciones económicas y las presiones inflacionarias lideran los riesgos macroeconómicos, los cambios regulatorios encabezan los riesgos estratégicos y las amenazas cibernéticas dominan los riesgos operativos. La encuesta también destaca preocupaciones emergentes sobre cambios geopolíticos (22% de los ejecutivos), lealtad del cliente (22%) y problemas en la cadena de suministro (16%).
경제적 불확실성은 Protiviti와 노스캐롤라이나주립대학교 ERM 이니셔티브의 새로운 설문조사에 따르면 전 세계 비즈니스 리더들의 주요 관심사로 남아 있습니다. 1,215명의 이사회 구성원과 C-suite 경영진을 대상으로 한 13번째 연례 설문조사는 단기(2-3년) 및 장기(10년) 위험 32가지를 평가했습니다.
식별된 3대 단기 위험은 경제적 조건(인플레이션 압력 포함), 사이버 위협 및 인재 관련 문제입니다. 특히 변화에 대한 저항은 2023년 4위에서 2024년 17위로 떨어져 조직의 회복력이 향상되었음을 시사합니다.
2035년 전망에 대해 주요 관심사는 일관되게 유지됩니다: 경제적 조건과 인플레이션 압력이 거시 경제적 위험을 이끌고, 규제 변화가 전략적 위험을 선도하며, 사이버 위협이 운영 위험을 지배합니다. 이 설문조사는 또한 지정학적 변화(경영진의 22%), 고객 충성도(22%), 공급망 문제(16%)에 대한 새로운 우려를 강조합니다.
L'incertitude économique demeure la principale préoccupation des dirigeants d'entreprise mondiaux, selon une nouvelle enquête menée par Protiviti et l'Initiative ERM de l'Université d'État de Caroline du Nord. La 13e enquête annuelle, qui a interrogé 1 215 membres de conseils d'administration et cadres supérieurs à l'échelle mondiale, a évalué 32 risques sur des horizons à court terme (2-3 ans) et à long terme (décennie).
Les trois principaux risques à court terme identifiés sont : les conditions économiques, y compris les pressions inflationnistes, les menaces cybernétiques et les défis liés aux talents. Notamment, la résistance au changement est passée de la 4e place en 2023 à la 17e en 2024, ce qui suggère une amélioration de la résilience organisationnelle.
Pour les perspectives de 2035, les préoccupations clés restent constantes : les conditions économiques et les pressions inflationnistes dominent les risques macroéconomiques, les changements réglementaires sont les principaux risques stratégiques et les menaces cybernétiques dominent les risques opérationnels. L'enquête met également en lumière des préoccupations émergentes concernant les changements géopolitiques (22 % des dirigeants), la fidélité des clients (22 %) et les problèmes de chaîne d'approvisionnement (16 %).
Wirtschaftliche Unsicherheit bleibt die Hauptsorge für globale Unternehmensführer, so eine neue Umfrage von Protiviti und der ERM-Initiative der North Carolina State University. Die 13. jährliche Umfrage, die 1.215 Vorstandsmitglieder und C-Level-Führungskräfte weltweit befragte, bewertete 32 Risiken über kurzfristige (2-3 Jahre) und langfristige (Jahrzehnt) Horizonte.
Die drei wichtigsten kurzfristigen Risiken, die identifiziert wurden, sind: wirtschaftliche Bedingungen einschließlich inflationsbedingter Druck, Cyber-Bedrohungen und Herausforderungen im Zusammenhang mit Talenten. Bemerkenswert ist, dass der Widerstand gegen Veränderungen von Platz 4 im Jahr 2023 auf Platz 17 im Jahr 2024 gefallen ist, was auf eine verbesserte organisatorische Resilienz hindeutet.
Für den Ausblick 2035 bleiben die Hauptsorgen konstant: Wirtschaftliche Bedingungen und inflationsbedingter Druck führen die makroökonomischen Risiken an, regulatorische Veränderungen stehen an der Spitze der strategischen Risiken und Cyber-Bedrohungen dominieren die operationellen Risiken. Die Umfrage hebt auch aufkommende Bedenken hinsichtlich geopolitischer Veränderungen (22 % der Führungskräfte), Kundenloyalität (22 %) und Probleme in der Lieferkette (16 %) hervor.
- None.
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Business leaders feel their organizations' resilience and ability to navigate a dynamically shifting risk landscape has been battle tested
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The 13th annual survey, "Executive Perspectives on Top Near- and Long-Term Risks," polled 1,215 board members and C-suite executives around the world about their views on 32 macroeconomic, strategic and operational risks facing their companies over the near-term (two to three years ahead) and the long-term (a decade later). In today's interconnected risk landscape, business leaders face complex uncertainties but feel better prepared to operate in a volatile environment and keep pace with change.
Top 10 Global Risks (over the next 2–3 years)
- Economic conditions, including inflationary pressures
- Cyber threats
- Ability to attract, develop and retain top talent, manage shifts in labor expectations, and address succession challenges
- Talent and labor availability
- Increases in labor costs
- Heightened regulatory change, uncertainty and scrutiny
- Third-party risks
- Rapid speed of disruptive innovations enabled by new and emerging technologies and/or other market forces
- Adoption of AI and other emerging technologies requiring new skills in short supply
- Emergence of new risks from implementing artificial intelligence
A notable change in the results is that board members and executives generally feel more positive about their organizations' resilience, agility and preparedness to deal with crises or changes in the market. Resistance to change was ranked as the fourth biggest risk for companies in 2023 and has fallen to 17th place for this year's survey, indicating that companies have established more agile business models and frameworks for identifying and responding to the unexpected with an increased level of flexibility in their strategic approaches.
"Despite the volatile economic environment with deglobalization, tariffs and the threat of trade wars, and changing regulation, leaders are feeling more confident that their organizations are battle-tested and better prepared to deal with disruption whether it's anticipated or not," said Matt Moore, Global Leader of Risk & Compliance at Protiviti. "Global leaders will need to tap into this confidence to adapt to evolving policies and a dynamic business landscape in the
Talent Risks Remain High: AI Risks Permeate Everything
Risks related to talent – whether challenges about attracting and retaining talent or increasing labor costs – occupy three of the top five short-term risks, indicating significant ongoing challenges. It is now clear that the risks AI poses are embedded in several of the other top 10 risks. This is especially true when looking at the talent-related risks. As AI technology evolves to agentic AI and physical AI, this will require widespread reskilling and upskilling, so that workforces are prepared to meet the demands of the future.
It's Not "If" But "When" For Cyber Attacks
Boards and C-suite leaders ranked cyber threats as the second most concerning risk over the next two to three years, outranked only by the economy. Cyber threats also represent the most-cited long-term operational risk for executives, with
"The widespread impacts of a cyber event permeate an entire company, which result in a number of potential risks – operational, financial, reputational and beyond. It's imperative that CISOs have open and honest conversations with senior leadership and board members on the organization's cyber risk profile. These discussions inform the steps taken to manage the variety of cyber threats that companies must face - including everything from risk of third parties with access to the company's data or environment to nation state-sponsored attacks," said Andy Retrum, Global Leader, Technology Risk & Resilience, Protiviti.
The Road Ahead: Top Risks for 2035
The study asked respondents to rank their top two risks a decade out across three risk categories:
Macroeconomic risk outlook:
- Economic conditions, including inflationary pressures
- Talent and labor availability
Strategic risk outlook:
- Heightened regulatory change, uncertainty and scrutiny
- Rapid speed of disruptive innovations enabled by new and emerging technologies and/or other market forces
Operational risk outlook:
- Cyber threats
- Ability to attract, develop and retain top talent, manage shifts in labor expectations, and address succession challenges
Many of the near-term risks continue to show up in the long-term assessment – the economy, talent and cyber remain center stage. While leaders may be confident about their ability to deal with change, it's clear that the impacts of today's risks are expected to persist into the next decade.
It is not just the top risks, but those a little further down the list that give insight into the risks on the rise for the next decade. Just over one-fifth (
Dr. Mark Beasley, professor of Enterprise Risk Management, director of North Carolina State University's ERM Initiative and co-author of the report, said: "The best companies will see these risks as inherently interconnected. Too often, companies are looking at risks in silos where one hand isn't consistently talking to the other. To address the future impacts of AI, geopolitical events and regulation, executives will need effective collaboration to strengthen their organization's resilience."
Resources Available
The "Executive Perspectives on Top Near-Term Risks and Long-Term Risks" report from Protiviti and North Carolina State University's ERM Initiative provides detailed results and analysis broken out across executive positions and industry groups.
A webinar will be held Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. ET, where panelists will share key takeaways from the survey and explore the interconnected nature of emerging risks and their strategic implications. Panelists include Carrie McNish, Managing Director, People & Change, Protiviti; Constantine Boyadjiev, Risk & Compliance Analytics Global Leader, Protiviti; and Ryan McCarthy, Senior Director, Security & Privacy, Protiviti.
About Protiviti
Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti and its independent and locally owned member firms provide clients with consulting and managed solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, digital, legal, HR, risk and internal audit through a network of more than 90 offices in over 25 countries.
Named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list for the 10th consecutive year, Protiviti has served more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The firm also works with government agencies and smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI).
About North Carolina State University's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Initiative
The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Initiative in the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University provides thought leadership about ERM practices and their integration with strategy and corporate governance. Faculty in the ERM Initiative frequently work with boards of directors and senior management teams helping them link ERM to strategy and governance, host executive workshops and educational training sessions, and issue research and thought papers on practical approaches to implementing more effective risk oversight techniques (www.erm.ncsu.edu).
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