Global societal trends 'posing operational risks for business'

A new report has highlighted the heavy impact that changing socioeconomic trends could have on the business world in the coming year.

Business risk consultancy Control Risks has stated that the continuing weakness of the economy and rising inequality is likely to create increased scrutiny on business practices in terms of social protest, government intervention and labour market unrest.

These trends could coincide with a rise in attacks on companies via online channels such as social media, both with regard to dissemination of negative viewpoints and in terms of hacking incidents.

Companies have therefore been advised to pay greater attention to systemic problems and seek to improve accountability, while also monitoring the public sphere to gauge general sentiment and inform risk management efforts.

Richard Fenning, chief executive officer of Control Risks, said: "Organisations must develop ever more robust strategies to assess and mitigate exposure to changing security, political, social, operational and reputational risks."

Last month, a report from Johnson Associates suggested that increased scrutiny on businesses as a result of movements such as Occupy Wall Street is leading to a fall in incentive payments among US finance firms.