As complex risks are emerging as a speedy pace, enterprises are realizing that additional risk management sophistication is needed to keep up. According to Executive Perspectives on Top Risks for 2016, a survey of 535 board members, C-Suite and other top-level executives around the world by Protiviti and the Enterprise Risk Management Initiative at the North Carolina State University Poole College of Management, 60 percent of respondents believe that regulatory change and heightened regulatory scrutiny is the top risk for the fourth year in a row.

The other top risks cited by executives included:

• Economic conditions in markets currently served may restrict growth opportunities for the organization (60 percent)
• The organization may not be sufficiently prepared to manage cyber threats
• that have the potential to significantly disrupt operations or damage the brand (57 percent)
• Succession challenges and the ability to attract and retail top talent, which may limit the enterprise’s ability to achieve operational targets (52 percent)
• Ensuring privacy/identity management and information security/system protection (53 percent)