Risk Professionals as Futurists: Shaping Tomorrow’s Uncertainty Today
The article explores how risk professionals can adopt futurist approaches, such as scenario planning and futures thinking, to anticipate and manage uncertainty. By integrating risk management with strategy, leveraging technology, and embracing behavioural insights, risk professionals can transform risk from a defensive function into a driver of innovation and organisational resilience.
Strategies for Resilience in a Dynamic World: from VUCA to BANI
This paper delves into the evolving landscape of business resilience, examining five conceptual frameworks shaping strategies for success in an era of unprecedented uncertainty. The concepts of SPOD-world, VUCA-world, BANI-world, RUPT-world, and TUNA-world are scrutinized to provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities they present.
Cyber Risk in Central Banking (BIS)
The rising number of cyber attacks in the financial sector poses a threat to financial stability and makes cyber risk a key concern for policy makers. This paper presents the results of a survey among members of the Global Cyber Resilience Group on cyber risk and its challenges for central banks. The survey reveals that central banks have notably increased their cyber security-related investments since 2020, giving technical security control and resiliency priority. Central banks see phishing and social engineering as the most common methods of attack, and the potential losses from a systemically relevant cyber attack are deemed to be large, especially if the target is a big tech providing critical cloud infrastructures. Generally, respondents judge the preparedness of the financial sector for cyber attacks to be inadequate. While central banks in most emerging market economies provide a framework for the collection of information on cyber attacks on financial institutions, less than half of those in advanced economies do. Cooperation among public authorities, especially in the international context, could improve central banks’ ability to respond to cyber attacks.
Beyond Ethics: The Strategic Economics of Digital Trust
Digital trust is fundamentally the belief that digital technologies and organisations will act securely, ethically and transparently, building stakeholder confidence that enables greater economic growth and resilience. Organisations that excel in digital trust practices—such as robust cybersecurity, ethical data usage and transparent processes—see tangible benefits including increased consumer loyalty, reduced risk, and enhanced market reputation. Recent consulting and research findings show that even a small increase in digital trust can significantly boost GDP per capita and business growth. However, the digital trust gap—differences in perceived versus actual trust in digital platforms—can impede innovation and market development, leaving societies vulnerable to cybercrime and undermining the value created by digital transformation.
In practice, embedding digital trust within strategy, risk and audit functions fosters lasting economic advantage, as strong trust environments lower transaction costs, encourage innovation and ensure higher rates of digital adoption.
Unlocking Opportunities: Executives Perspectives on Risks and Opportunities – 2026
The 2026 “Executive Perspectives on Top Risks and Opportunities” survey of 1,540 board and C-suite leaders finds strong optimism for growth despite persistent uncertainty. Leaders see significant revenue potential, with ecosystem expansion through strategic alliances and partnerships a key lever, while geographic expansion is approached more cautiously. Cyber threats, third‑party risks and legacy IT constraints dominate the near‑term risk landscape, and AI is viewed as both a transformative growth driver and a major source of security, integration and talent risks. Over the next decade, customers and competition, security and privacy, AI deployment, markets and economies, and talent challenges are the top long‑term concerns.
IRMSA Risk Report 2026/27 – UmphakathiVuka
Southern Africa is entering the 2026–2027 period with risk as a defining feature of how we govern, invest and lead, yet the IRMSA Risk Report argues that this moment is also rich with possibility. At the heart of this edition is UmphakathiVuka – Awakening the Forest – a people‑first mindset that positions organisations, sectors, communities and institutions as interconnected trees within a single living ecosystem. The Report shows how governance failures, economic fragility, infrastructure decline, inequality, climate stress, systemic crime, cyber vulnerability, water scarcity and energy insecurity have converged into an interconnected meta‑crisis that shapes every development choice. But it also frames each of the Top 10 Risks as an opportunity pathway, i.e. to rebuild a capable state, unlock inclusive growth, modernise critical infrastructure, invest in climate resilience and digital security, and restore social cohesion through ethical leadership and accountable governance. Through scenarios, sector and regional lenses, and a practical Call to Action grounded in King V and a 5W1H framework, the Report invites leaders to treat risk intelligence as a strategic asset and resilience as a collective national project. The future forest will be shaped less by the shocks we face than by the courage, foresight and collaboration we choose to exercise now.
Case Study: Integrated Risk Management at African Energy Corporation
African Energy Corporation (AEC), a leading energy company based in South Africa, faced significant challenges in managing risks across its diverse operations. The company's siloed approach to risk management led to inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and potential threats to its strategic objectives.
Case Study: Mondi Group’s Journey in Social Psychology of Risk
Mondi Group, a global packaging and paper company, has been on a transformative journey in its approach to safety and risk management since 2020. The company shifted from a traditional safety approach, which primarily focused on workplace controls, to embracing the Social Psychology of Risk (SPoR) framework (Mondi Group, 2024).
Case Study: Building Operational Resilience in a Sub-Saharan African Manufacturing Firm
XYZ Manufacturing, a Ghanaian firm, tackled operational challenges head-on with a robust resilience strategy. Through critical service identification, impact analysis, stakeholder engagement, and tech integration, they slashed downtime by 30% and boosted efficiency by 15%. Their success underscores the vital role of continuous improvement in building organisational resilience.
The Resilience Playbook: Strategies for Success
Attention, business captains! Navigate the turbulent seas of modern commerce with operational resilience as your compass. Chart a course through risks, leverage technology as your first mate, and cultivate a crew that thrives on adaptability. By stress-testing your ship and embracing a proactive mindset, you'll not just weather storms—you'll discover new horizons of opportunity!