In a
recent survey of business leaders across all industries, many have different views of the risks they are facing. But a surprising 40% of them say their organizations won’t be economically viable in 10 years’ time if they continue on their current course.
Of the 4,410 CEOs from 105 countries polled by PwC, 56% believe their profitability will be impacted by changing customer demands, while 53% said changes in regulation, 52% said labor/skills shortages, 49% said technological disruptions and 43% said supply chain disruption.
When asked, “Which of the following actions, if any, is your company considering to mitigate against exposure to geopolitical conflict in the next 12 months?” the top three responses followed a similar pattern:
- Increasing investments in cybersecurity/data privacy – 48%
- Adjusting supply chains – 46%
- Adjusting our presence in current markets/expanding into new markets – 46%
However, while cyber and health risks topped the list last year, the economic downturn and the Ukraine war and other geopolitical conflicts taking this year’s focus. The leading risks:
- Inflation – 40%
- Macroeconomic volatility – 31%
- Geopolitical conflict risks – 25%
- Cyber risks – 20%
- Climate change – 14%
This awareness of upcoming short- and long-term risks has made CEOs more aware of what to prepare for, with climate change commanding particular attention. A majority of CEOs (65%) are developing initiatives to reduce their companies’ emissions, as well as innovating new, climate-friendly products and processes or developing data-driven, enterprise-level strategy for mitigating climate risks.
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