SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 7 December 2021 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has announced the results of its 2021 Global Risk Management Survey, which gathers input from thousands of risk managers every two years to identify key risks and challenges their organisations are facing. The past two years have proved to be incredibly volatile, with the global COVID-19 pandemic having had a ripple effect across other types of risk, such as heightened awareness of reputation and cyber, as long-tail risks have become increasingly important to manage.
The 2021 edition surveyed more than 2,300 respondents in 60 countries/territories across 16 industries at both public and private companies. With more emphasis and reliance on technology, cyber risk topped the list as the number one current and predicted future risk globally, its highest rank since the inception of the survey. Cyber was also cited in the top 10 list of risks across each region, industry and respondent type. In Asia Pacific, Business Interruption topped the list, followed by Cyber Attacks.
The top 10 risks also strongly reflect the current landscape, namely COVID-19 and its impact on organisations amidst a backdrop of challenging market conditions: slower vaccine rollouts, delayed infrastructure projects and workforce shortages. This is testing the ability of firms to manage volatility and make better decisions. Organisations are shifting their focus from event-based to impact-based risk assessments: for example, business interruption was once seen as a linear risk, but the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how it can affect multiple industries and companies simultaneously and globally.
“The world is a more volatile place and the importance of better decision making has never been greater, said Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Commercial Risk Solutions at Aon. “Long-tail risks are not single events. They’re innately interconnected, as we’ve seen with the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changing the way the world works, revealing new risks and re-ordering priorities in the C-suite. A preoccupation with managing these immediate risks may be compromising firms’ ability to invest in managing the risks of tomorrow.”
Exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighting the interconnectivity of risk, the top 10 Asia Pacific risks according to the 2021 Global Risk Management Survey are:
1. Business Interruption
2. Cyber Attacks/Data Breach
3. Economic Slowdown/Slow Recovery
4. Damage to Reputation/Brand
5. Pandemic Risk/Health Crises
6. Failure to Innovate/Meet Customer Needs
7. Increasing Competition
8. Accelerated Rates of Change in Market Factors
9. Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
10. Regulatory/Legislative Changes
Additional key findings for Asia Pacific include:
- Pandemic Risk/Health Crises risk jumped to number five in Asia Pacific, up from 59 in the 2019 survey.
- Despite 62 percent of respondents reporting an increase in levels of risk readiness, growing volatility and the changing nature of the top 10 risks led to the highest ever reported loss of income in Asia Pacific compared to other regions.
- In Asia Pacific, 37 percent of respondents reported a loss of income from the top 10 risks, an increase of 14 percent compared to 2019.
- Seventy percent of respondents reported that the Total Cost of Insurable Risk in Asia Pacific was increasing.
- Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent ranked at number nine in 2021, compared to number 10 in 2019, reinforcing the continued importance of building a resilient workforce.
- Climate change ranks at number 21; however, extreme weather events are occurring regularly in Asia Pacific. Climate change is inherently tied to other, more tangible risks, where the immediate impact is measurable, and is considered an underrated risk by Aon.
“Risk profiles have been and continue to change as businesses and economies emerge from the pandemic. New exposures have appeared and therefore our understanding, readiness and ability to manage and transfer risk must evolve along with them,” said Anne Corona, CEO, Asia Pacific at Aon. “Several of the top risks identified for Asia Pacific in this year’s survey highlight four key areas of client need and the associated interdependencies of these risks. There is an increasing need to innovate to address these ‘known unknowns.’ As we face unprecedented events, businesses must proactively prepare and manage the current and emerging risk exposures.”
About the study
Conducted every two years since 2007, Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey provides data and insights to enable better decision making around risk in an increasingly volatile and complex business environment. The full report is available 
here. The report highlights the top 10 risks by industry and region, as well as risk readiness, associated losses and mitigation actions for each of the top 10 risks. In addition, the report includes the predicted top 10 risks in the next three years and Aon’s analysis of underrated risks.
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.
Follow Aon on 
Twitter and 
LinkedIn. Stay up-to-date by visiting the Aon Newsroom and sign up for News Alerts here.
#Aon
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Services
Stakeholder mapping, analysis, engagement and communication needs to be detailed to avoid business losses or even worse, a crisis. How can you do this effectively to prevent failure? ...
Data-driven business decisions have never been as crucial, especially in this era. MGBF leverages off, technology, experience and market presence to aid businesses in making accurate decisions. ...
MGBF provides comprehensive strategic advice and results-focused solutions to solve clients' problems in business-government relations so they can focus on their core business. ...
A critical business challenge is meeting the right decision-makers and potential buyers through the best channel and platform. How will you improve your business competency? ...
Upcoming Events
MGBF founding chairman Nordin Abdullah and UMW Toyota president Datuk Ravindran K. will delve into the convergence of automotive innovation and environmental sustainability in Penang, Sarawak, Johor and Pahang.
Hosted by menumiz™ – an end-to-end restaurant management system – this roundtable will feature a case study presentation and a panel session to discuss the latest digital trends, challenges, and opportunities within the food and beverage sector.
In this episode of 'A Working Lunch with Nordin', MGBF's founding chairman, Nordin Abdullah, will host this discussion focusing on the biggest threats and opportunities for businesses as we look to manage change in the South China Sea.
This MGBF Roundtable will focus on regional food security issues and trends in the regional supply chain, and trade regulations and policies, including a new geopolitical tool i.e., weaponisation of supply chains.
MGBF In The News
News provided by Emjay Communications Malaysia and China commemorated a historic milestone of 50 years of diplomatic relations with a grand celebration at Sunway Velocity Mall on the 10th of August 2024. The event, themed “Hi China: Discovering China Opportunities and Celebrating 50 Years of China-Malaysia Relationship,” aimed to deepen […]
Planet QEOS, KIS BlOCNG San Bhd, and the Sarawak Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Authority (SALCRA) have officially signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a collaborative framework aimed at producing bio-hydrogen via the Steam Biomethane Reforming (SBMR) Process. The MoU was signed by Planet QEOS executive chairman Dino […]
Planet QEOS and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) are interested in investing RM10 billion to co-develop advanced Megawatt peak (MWp) agrovoltaic in Baram, to further boost Sarawak’s green energy initiative and food security. Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg was briefed on Friday by both the […]
Last week SPM results came out, 373,974 aspirants who have been waiting patiently over the last few months would now know their fate. Some 10,109 have received all A’s, the golden standard of academic success and the ticket to those looking to study the “more advanced” subjects in university. Proudly, […]
The classic knee-jerk reaction is to say, fire the coach, change the leadership of associations, and reduce the funding till they start performing better. This kind of negative reinforcement may work for kindergarten children, but we are dealing with high-performance adults – individuals much further along in their psychological and […]
Since its earliest tea plantations in 1929, Cameron Highlands has grown to become a key player in the agricultural landscape of Malaysia, producing 40 per cent of all vegetables grown. Despite Malaysia shifting its economic focus away from agriculture, the industry remains imperative for food security and the livelihoods of […]
Although at first glance the travel industry and the agricultural sector appear to have nothing in common, they actually share more than meets the eye. The economic benefits of tourism to the agricultural sector can be multiplied several times over. “Tourism brings the end consumers closer to the source, which […]
The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) recently held a high-level roundtable themed ‘Designing the Future of the Digital Economy’, attended by industry leaders and business associations. The guest of honour was Yang Berhormat Syerleena Abdul Rashid, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Bendera in Penang. The MP’s Special Session […]
The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) will be hosting a roundtable on ‘Designing the Future of the Digital Economy’ on 23 February 2023. It is the culmination of the first three MGBF Exclusive Roundtable Series titled ‘The Evolving Threat Matrix in the Digital Economy’ held throughout 2022. According to the […]
The Founding Chairman of the Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF), Nordin Abdullah, today spoke on Bernama TV’s leading English talk show, The Brief, hosted by Jessy Chahal, on the topic of a stable political reality and what that means for the Malaysian economy. Nordin said, “The first thing that it […]
More than 1,100 years ago, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was developing the mathematical formulas that we know today as algorithms which now have become so intertwined with the business fortunes of global media giants and the very fabric of geopolitics. A series of recent high level international reports have revealed […]
KSK Land has been recognised by the Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) for its role in attracting high net-worth individuals to Malaysia post-pandemic. The first challenge in investor attraction is “selling” the country. In the context of Asia, Malaysia is competing with some very established investment destinations. The second […]
Malaysia, in particular Kuala Lumpur, continues to position itself as a regional centre to do business, educate a family and enjoy a global lifestyle. One company, KSK Land, has taken the lead in positioning itself and the city of Kuala Lumpur as a property investment destination for the global citizen […]
The upcoming budget represents an opportunity to build resilience in the critical sectors that will form the backbone of the country’s future-facing economic ambitions. This however needs to be achieved in the context of managing the community sectors most impacted by COVID-19 over the past two years. The Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) […]
Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) has moved to support the creative economy as the overall economy moves into a recovery phase following the COVID19 pandemic. As a step in the direction of normalcy, the MGBF has agreed to host the art exhibition “I Know You’re Somewhere So Far” by one […]
Congratulations to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob for taking up the mantle of the ninth prime minister of Malaysia. There is nothing normal about the situation; it could not have been scripted but it has kept the spectrum of media, mainstream and social, gripped. The first order of business for […]
In a stirring speech to the nation, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. stamped his brand of leadership on the presidency, in his first act as the 46th president of the United State of America, it signaled several shifts. Perhaps the weather was foreboding with snow falling before the ceremony that […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 6 July 2022 – As the global economy continues to deal with unprecedented levels of disruption caused by the pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the convergence of energy security and food security issues has become a front-of-mind issue faced by policy makers and consumers alike. […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 June 2022 — Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF) ties up with scoutAsia to ensure that businesses are equipped with deeper regional insights. The past two years has seen a massive shift in the way businesses are conducted with digitisation, digitalisation and automation continuously being adopted to improve […]
KUALA LUMPUR, 25 May 2022 – The Malaysia Global Business Forum (MGBF)’s exclusive roundtable on ‘Security Concerns in Critical Value Chains’ was held in a hybrid setting yesterday at the Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The guest of honour was Yang Berbahagia Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Rafidah Aziz, former minister of […]
