Risk in Focus Identifies the World’s 5 Highest Risks
This year’s survey shows that cybersecurity, digital disruption, and geopolitical uncertainty are the highest risks worldwide, based on more than 3,000 survey responses from internal audit leaders. These rapidly changing risks create challenges that organizations must address.
Respond strategically to emerging risks
Discover the five highest risks in the world and how internal audit leaders are responding. Based on survey responses and roundtables from thousands of CAEs and directors worldwide.
Key findings from the Risk in Focus 2026/2027 reports:
- Technology and geopolitical risks are becoming systemic, with enterprisewide implications.
- Risk displacement occurs as urgent, disruptive risks push other risks out of the Top 5 risk ranking.
- Internal audit effort is shifting toward high risk areas, but key gaps remain between risk level and audit priority.
- Audit plans retain strong traditional anchors.
- The most rapidly changing risks have some of the weakest governance and lowest internal audit coverage.
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