U.S. execs cite competition as top risk

Competition was viewed as the number one risk ranked by a survey of 150 U.S. executives in Protivitis 2007 U.S. Risk Barometer.
Customer satisfaction, the regulatory environment, information systems and IT security, and changing markets make up the first five of the top 10 risks as determined by the study, says a Protiviti release.
Carmen Rossiter, managing director with Protiviti Canada, told The Montreal Gazette that the results also reflect the views of Canadian executives.
Having now completed three years of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, its increasingly clear that the largest U.S. companies are finally focussing on other risks beyond regulatory and compliance-related issues, James Pajakowski, managing director and Protivitis leader of Business Risk Solutions, said in a statement.
They’re very similar and very applicable to our market, she told The Gazette, adding that, We think (enterprise risk management) is the next big thing on the horizon.
The survey also found that nearly half (47%) of executives rated their organizations less than very effective” at identifying and managing significant risks, leaving them vulnerable to unanticipated losses, reduced productivity and business disruptions.
Among the companies that rated themselves as not very effective, 77% are planning at least some changes to their risk management capabilities over the next two years, and 14% plan significant changes, the Protiviti release says.
Nearly half of the not very effective companies noted that a single event prompted the decision to change, implying an ad hoc, reactive state for companies lacking high confidence in their risk management capabilities.