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NINTH EDITION

Global Risk Management Survey

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United States Results

Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey (GRMS) is designed to assess business leaders’ attitudes about risk management generally and about specific risks. The 2023 results for the United States show respondents are concerned about the impact on current and future operations of ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and escalating geopolitical volatility. Along with their counterparts globally, U.S. respondents are challenged by the increasingly interconnected and compounding nature of risk, including operational and people risks.

Top 10 Risks Facing United States Organizations Now

Cyber attack or data breach was the number one U.S. risk in 2023. Businesses are increasingly required by corporate boards, developing U.S. government regulations, and insurers to demonstrate a keen understanding of the potential impact of a cyber event; however, doing so is challenging given the complexity and fast-changing nature of this risk. Moreover, although digital technology plays a central role in enabling U.S. business development and economic growth, it exacerbates cyber risk by enlarging the digital attack surface and increasing potential security vulnerabilities. Cyber risk also exemplifies the interrelated nature of risk; it can compromise a company’s data and intellectual property and also cause business interruption (ranked sixth in 2023) and damage to brand or reputation (ranked ninth in 2023).

Economic slowdown or slow recovery ranked second in 2023, likely due to protracted inflation and fluctuating interest rates. The U.S. economy remains resilient, with GDP growing at a 4.9 percent annual pace in the third quarter, better than expected. However, a recent pullback in hiring by U.S. employers shows that tightening monetary policy designed to lower inflation may be cooling off the economy.

Top 10 Current Risks

  1. Cyber Attack or Data Breach
  2. Economic Slowdown or Slow Recovery
  3. Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
  4. Supply Chain or Distribution Failure
  5. Regulatory or Legislative Changes
  6. Business Interruption
  7. Failure to Innovate or Meet Customer Needs
  8. Workforce Shortage
  9. Damage to Brand or Reputation
  10. Cash Flow or Liquidity Risk

Explore the Global Results

Companies are grappling with traditional risks in new guises across both risk and human capital. How can business leaders best prioritise and respond to them?

View Global Report

Top Five Risks Facing United States Organizations in the Future

For the most part, U.S. survey respondents anticipate their largest risks in 2023 will continue. Four of five top risks in 2023 appear on U.S. respondents’ list of top five future risks. Only supply chain or distribution failure falls out of the top five, replaced by workforce shortage, which moves up from number eight in 2023 to number four in the future. The presence of two highly interrelated human capital risks on the list of top five future risks—failure to attract or retain top talent and workforce shortage—is telling. Continued low unemployment has led to ongoing staffing shortages and intense competition across industries for highly skilled workers. These human-capital risks also could be contributing to other top 10 risks, including failure to innovate or meet customer needs and business interruption. Under these conditions, an organization’s employee value proposition and overall reputation are vital to attracting and retaining talent.

Top 5 Future Risks

  1. Cyber Attack or Data Breach
  2. Economic Slowdown or Slow Recovery
  3. Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
  4. Workforce Shortage
  5. Regulatory or Legislative Changes

What the Results Mean for Organizations in the United States

Rising geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility are rapidly shifting the risk landscape. Diversification—for example, in investment strategies, supply chains, and customer bases—can help organizations withstand macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility. Increasing cash reserves and otherwise modifying capital strategies can ensure their ability to meet financial obligations and position them to take advantage of innovation opportunities—to transform existing operations or develop new products and revenue streams—as they arise.

Organizations can shore up cyber resilience with a strategy that includes data-driven assessment, mitigation, risk transfer, and recovery. Effectively addressing cyber risk requires cross-functional leadership involvement. This may include jointly making decisions about strategies and investments in information security and cyber insurance based on a common understanding of the risk.

To attract in-demand talent and differentiate from their competitors, U.S. organizations can use data to articulate total rewards strategies and comprehensive employee value propositions (EVPs). Key EVP areas of importance to employees include talent development, culture, compensation, and benefits. Flexible and customizable EVPs and rewards can better meet the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce.