Business interruption and cyberattacks are top concerns in the Asia Pacific region, according to a study from Aon.

Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey gathers input from thousands of risk managers every two years to identify key risks and challenges their organisations are facing. Other key concerns include economic slowdowns and a failure to attract or retain top talent.

"The world is a more volatile place and the importance of better decision making has never been greater, said Lambros Lambrou, CEO of Commercial Risk Solutions at Aon. "Long-tail risks are not single events. They're innately interconnected, as we've seen with the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changing the way the world works, revealing new risks and re-ordering priorities in the C-suite. A preoccupation with managing these immediate risks may be compromising firms' ability to invest in managing the risks of tomorrow."

Exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and highlighting the interconnectivity of risk, the top ten Asia Pacific risks according to the 2021 Global Risk Management Survey are:

1. Business Interruption

2. Cyber Attacks/Data Breach

3. Economic Slowdown/Slow Recovery

4. Damage to Reputation/Brand

5. Pandemic Risk/Health Crises

6. Failure to Innovate/Meet Customer Needs

7. Increasing Competition

8. Accelerated Rates of Change in Market Factors

9. Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent

10. Regulatory/Legislative Changes

In Asia Pacific, 37% of respondents reported a loss of income from the top ten risks, an increase of 14% compared to 2019.

Pandemic Risk/Health Crises risk jumped to number five in Asia Pacific, up from 59 in the 2019 survey.

Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent ranked at number nine in 2021, compared to number ten in 2019, reinforcing the continued importance of building a resilient workforce.