Survey: Global Risks Connected More Than Ever Due to COVID-19

Over these volatile past two years, the pandemic has had a ripple effect, increasing other types of global risks to manage, according to a recent survey of thousands of risk managers worldwide. The 2021 edition of Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey took in responses from more than 2,300 risk professionals in 60 countries across 16 industries to identify the top risks and how they interconnect. The top 10 are:

1. Cyberattacks/Data Breaches
2. Business Interruption
3. Economic Slowdown/Slow Recovery
4. Commodity Price Risk/Scarcity of Materials
5. Damage to Reputation/Brand
6. Regulatory/Legislative Changes
7. Pandemic Risk/Health Crises
8. Supply Chain or Distribution Failure
9. Increasing Competition
10. Failure to Innovate/Meet Customer Needs

The rankings reflect a “long-tail” risk landscape where COVID-19 impacts and interconnects all aspects of business and risk planning. Business interruption, for example, had once been viewed as a linear risk, but the pandemic has shown how it can affect multiple industries in multiple regions all at the same time. As a result, risk managers report having a more challenging time juggling the immediate threats with knock-on effects down the road. Perhaps because of these circumstances, more organization say they have plans to address and manage risks – 58% in 2021, up from 51% in the 2019 report. The report offers an analysis of risks by region and industry as well – click here to read more.