Algunos estudios estiman que más del 75% de la actividad económica mundial está afectada directa o indirectamente por el clima. Se confirma, por lo tanto, aquello que siempre había sido intuitivamente obvio: los riesgos derivados del clima constituyen, independientemente de si la variabilidad es extrema o moderada, una amenaza extendida y permanente al tejido productivo, y por tanto social, de un país. Aquí no estamos hablando tan sólo del famoso proceso de cambio climático, sino también de fenómenos mucho menos dramáticos y mucho más habituales que pueden generar pérdidas a multitud de empresas y gobiernos.

El 90% de los directivos de riesgo considera que la morosidad financiera en España aumentará en los próximos meses, y la totalidad de los consultados apunta que no se reducirá, según una encuesta realizada por la Asociación Europea de Marketing Financiero y la empresa de tecnología Fico.

Public-private partnership solutions can substantially ease the financial burden natural disasters put on government budgets. The economic costs of natural catastrophes have risen from an average USD 25 billion per annum in the 1980s to USD 130 billion in the 2000s. With climate change unfolding, catastrophic events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts are likely to increase further, hitting in particular emerging markets and developing countries.

The world is in no position to face major, new shocks. The financial crisis has reduced global economic resilience, while increasing geopolitical tension and heightened social concerns suggest that both governments and societies are less able than ever to cope with global challenges. Yet, as this report shows, we face ever-greater concerns regarding global risks, the prospect of rapid contagion through increasingly connected systems and the threat of disastrous impacts.

El estudio ofrece un diagnóstico del grado de implementación de medidas que facilitan la continuidad de las operaciones en el caso de producirse contingencias. Así, tal y como muestra el informe, el 38,4 % de las pymes españolas afirman contar con algún tipo de estrategia enfocada a garantizar la continuidad de su negocio en caso de una incidencia o desastre.

That the recent global financial crisis has put a spotlight on enterprise risk management (ERM) practices for financial service companies, including the insurance industry, is borne out by Towers Watson's 2010 ERM survey. Most insurers recognize room for improvement in their ERM programs, especially given rising investor interest, looming Solvency II regulatory requirements in 2012 and ever-increasing rating agency expectations.

Of all the risks concerning boards and executives, strategic risk is most likely to pose significant threats and opportunities to an enterprise. Yet many business leaders may suffer from a blind spot related to strategic risk that can be as dangerous as it is difficult to recognize: The failure to consider that the strategy itself may be flawed because it is based on assumptions that may no longer be valid.

The World Economic Forum's work on global risks offers a unique perspective in some of the most pressing global challenges facing industries and governments in the coming decade. By focusing on risk context and interconnectedness, the Forum provides frameworks for analysis, dialogue and collaborative action to help decision-makers improve the resilience of global, regional and industry systems.

The oil and gas industry is still recovering from the greatest global economic shock of more than 75 years. While a mood of cautious optimism has emerged, economic uncertainty remains.

The survey polled nearly 200 senior-level executives from the aerospace, metals, engineering and conglomerates sectors across North America, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific to understand how their supply chains were changing as a result of prevailing economic uncertainty.

As employees become more mobile and use more consumer technologies in the workplace, corporate systems and information are increasingly at risk from security breaches. All organizations know that they should strengthen IT security, but smart IT departments approach the task in a way that improves, rather than stifles, employee productivity.

In today's business environment, conditions remain challenging for many, and risk retains its position high on every organization's agenda. Businesses themselves are changing, which brings new risk horizons and, at the same time, they are grappling with the changes brought about by a post-downturn economy. The ability to anticipate threats, respond and continually adapt is as critical a part of the risk management process as it ever has been.

The global recession has refocused supply chain managers on the tradeoff between cost and resilience, according to Resilient Supply Chains in a Time of Uncertainty, a new research paper from the Economist Intelligence Unit sponsored by Oracle. Based on interviews with supply chain executives from Lenovo, USG, Fedex, Coca-Cola, Unipart, Whirlpool and other companies, the paper highlights supply chain problems in the aftermath of the extraordinary swings in demand over the past two years

Aunque en nuestro país, el porcentaje de directivos que asegura que en su empresa se ha cometido un caso significativo de fraude es ligeramente menor que en el resto, 18% frente al 21% de la media de Europa Occidental, la cuestión de la responsabilidad individual es un asunto que quita el sueño cada vez más al Consejo de Administración, y así lo creen sus directivos.

Uno de cada diez fondos de capital riesgo no alcanzará los objetivos previstos y una de cada cuatro gestoras desaparecerá por la crisis en los próximos siete años, según el barómetro semestral que realiza la firma Coller Capital. Las firmas de ‘private equity' se han visto sacudidas por la crisis económica, pero también por los cambios regulatorios y fiscales en algunos países, así como por las previsiones de mayores deterioros en la situación global para poder invertir a corto plazo.

Los autores presentan en su nuevo trabajo distintas estrategias para que las firmas que continúan operando se mantengan a flote. Según el estudio, las firmas de capital riesgo sólo sobrevivirán si crean valor mediante los resultados operativos de sus empresas, ya que los inversores han dejado bien claro que no invertirán en aquellas firmas orientadas a la creación de valor mediante el apalancamiento financiero.

The emergence of governance and risk management is a response to an increasing complexity of large global organizations. Yet, it has failed to deliver the expected results. In the past decade, a number of corporate scandals unearthed, and the banking sector collapsed. Governments and regulators were forced to intervene by enacting a number of laws to improve corporate governance and tighten risk management.

As the business and regulatory environment continues to evolve, organizations are operating in a world in which traditional strategies and assumptions are failing. In both the short and long term, companies that succeed will be those that can demonstrate resilience-the ability to drive business performance and achieve regulatory compliance in an environment in which these two outcomes must be managed strategically and with agility.

The result of extensive input throughout the previous year by experts from business, academia, and the public sector, Global Risks 2010 highlights a number of slow-moving risks exacerbated by the financial crisis and global economic downturn, and stresses the continued need to further enhance global resilience to risks.

Aún después de la fuerte crisis económica que ha vivido el mundo durante el último año, las compañías no han tomado las riendas de la gestión de riesgos para invertir lo necesario y encadenar efectivamente esta área con la toma de decisiones y con todas las demás. Un estudio de EIU revela datos sobre el peligro que corre el futuro de las organizaciones si no se toman medidas correctivas en cuanto a la gestión de riesgo.

La crisis financiera mundial ha llevado a una renegociación completa de la evaluación de la gestión de riesgos. Pero mientras que las empresas admiten que es necesario un importante cambio, una proporción significativa no está dispuesta, o es incapaz, de hacer las mejoras necesarias.