Accenture has released the findings of its C-suite risk survey, outlining the top risks for C-suite executives in financial services both in the UK and globally.

Based on the responses of 353 poll participants across Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the US, below are the risk categories that have risen up the agenda for financial services leaders over the last two years.

The fifth risk category for UK-based respondents was talent risk (24%); global, climate change and environmental risks (24%). In the UK, only 17% of the 54 people who were surveyed said climate risks have become significantly more important.

“Implementing artificial intelligence has shot up the agenda for businesses across all sectors in the last two years, as business growth and efficiency benefits are becoming clearer,” managing director Heather Adams, risk strategy & consulting head at Accenture UK & Ireland, said in an emailed release.

“Amid the hype, it’s little surprise to see that UK financial services firms are increasingly concerned about the risks its implementation could pose to their businesses. New innovative technologies inherently bring some uncertainty, and with uncertainty comes risk in the short term.

“But the potential is even greater, and so to mitigate these risks, UK financial services businesses must implement robust governance frameworks and ensure thorough data quality control, something they are uniquely well-placed to do due to heavy regulation and governance requirements in the sector.”

Adams added that AI and other disruptive technology will help mitigate some of the other risks, e.g. operational and talent, if embraced responsibly and in a safe manner.    

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