Cybersecurity and human capital rank as the top risks among internal auditors around the world, according to a new survey.
The survey, released Thursday by the Internal Audit Foundation, part of the Institute of Internal Auditors, polled 4,207 internal audit leaders across Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America to get a pulse on the greatest risks impacting their regions.
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Over the next three years, CAEs across all regions anticipate risk levels to grow dramatically for digital disruption (34% to 55%) and climate change (19% to 39%). North American respondents view cybersecurity (85%), human capital (65%) and regulatory change (43%) as the top three risks currently affecting their organizations.
Global Risk in Focus is actually a series of reports customized for six global regions, including hot topics for internal auditors and a board briefing summary that internal auditors can share with stakeholders. While there were many similarities across regions, different themes did emerge for each part of the world.
"For internal auditors, reliable data is critical to the work we do," said IIA president and CEO Anthony Pugliese in a statement. "By creating this global look at risks from an internal audit perspective, we're providing an invaluable resource that allows internal auditors and their organizations to understand risk in an unprecedented way and raise these risks with their boards in a solution-oriented manner. Not only can practitioners dig deeper into risks within their regions, but they can also see how these risks are impacting the global business landscape. With this new information, internal auditors will be able to help their organizations navigate the current risk landscape and also take steps to be better prepared for future risks."
