Are You Prepared for Emerging Risks in 2020 and Beyond?

New IIA Report Projects the Biggest Dangers and Tips for Getting Prepared

Organizations that plan strategically are adept at preparing for the unexpected. In a comprehensive new research report, the Institute of Internal Auditors identifies the top 11 risks likely to impact organizations in the coming year. Based on the perspectives of top risk management professionals, OnRisk 2020: A Guide to Understanding, Aligning, and Optimizing Risk offers a detailed look at the greatest challenges expected in 2020 and how aligning risk management can increase success.

According to the report, these are the risks most likely to affect organizations in 2020 and beyond. Which ones are you prepared for?

1. Cybersecurity: Are you sufficiently prepared to manage cyber threats that could cause disruption and damage your reputation?
2. Data protection: In the face of growing concerns about data privacy, how should you manage sensitive data — your own and your customers’?
3. Regulatory change: What challenges can you expect to face in a rapidly changing and sometimes volatile regulatory environment?
4. Business continuity/crisis response: How will you prepare, react, respond and recover from a crisis?
5. Data and new technology: How well is your organization prepared to leverage new technology in order to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution?
6. Third party: As you become increasingly reliant on outside parties for services, how well are you prepared to select and monitor these third-party providers, especially in the area of information security?
7. Talent management: What challenges does your organization face in identifying, acquiring and retaining talent in a period of low unemployment and changes in workplace culture?
8. Culture: How well does your organization understand, monitor and manage the cultural conditions and environments that drive behavior?
9. Board information: Is your board of directors receiving complete, timely, transparent, accurate and relevant information?
10. Data ethics: Have you examined organizational conduct and potential damages related to a failure to establish proper data governance?
11. Sustainability: Have you established strategies to address long-term sustainable issues raised by the growth of environmental, social and governance (ESG) awareness?

Based on interviews about these 11 risks with 90 representatives of key groups, the report presents seven findings aimed at ”shedding light not only into how risks are understood, but also how the ability to manage risk is perceived.”

You can listen to a discussion about the report on a podcast available on the IIA website. For help understanding and managing your organization’s risks — in 2020 and far into the future — visit Weaver’s website or contact us for a consultation.