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Our Global Risk Survey offers insights on the pressing risks facing today’s businesses, major gaps in preparedness, and where regional and industry peers stand.

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A consequential year of elections has unleashed rapid-fire policy changes—from sanctions to tariffs to cybersecurity requirements—at a pace that has fast become the new normal. At the same time, AI-related disruption, technological advancements, and economic volatility show no signs of letting up. 

For today’s executives and their advisers, it’s not enough to identify and understand these risks. Business leaders must prioritize and proactively address them, often with limited (or overextended) resources at their disposal. Even the tools meant to mitigate risks add complexity: while investing in new technologies can help detect and analyze risk factors, our research reveals that these tools can create more vulnerabilities if poorly implemented.

The AlixPartners 2025 Global Risk Survey aims to bring insights to business leaders faced with solving organizations most critical problems, by drawing on responses from 1,000 senior executives serving in legal, regulatory/compliance, and risk functions across the globe. Respondents were surveyed in February and include professionals from the U.S., the UK, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America working in financial services, technology, manufacturing, and other major industries.

Key findings

Financial Crime

63% believe financial crime will increase in the next 12 months

“With regulatory enforcement expected to ease, most legal and compliance leaders believe financial crime will increase. While technology is a cost-effective way to mitigate risk and reduce exposure, these tools are still evolving and have yet to fully prove their effectiveness—creating potential vulnerabilities for organizations of all kinds."
Sean Dowd, Partner and Managing Director
“For financial institutions and corporates alike, it is important to remain vigilant and invest in proactive compliance in the fast-evolving regulatory landscape. Organizations that harness human expertise with advanced technology will be better equipped to navigate this new era.”
Meaghan Schmidt, Partner and Managing Director

Regulatory

Fewer than half of respondents feel very prepared to adapt to potential regulatory changes

“While we expect more clarity in the U.S. as senior agency officials are installed, one thing that’s certain is that there will be shifts in priorities. State and local regulators in the U.S. will likely seek to fill the void left by changes at the national level. We could also see shifts in international compliance priorities from one jurisdiction to the next. All of this could result in multi-national companies needing to assess compliance in areas where they may not have historically focused.”
Brad Mroski, Partner and Managing Director
“In today’s fragmented and rapidly transforming regulatory environment, a lack of preparedness exposes organizations to prominent compliance gaps, enforcement actions, and reputational risk. Rather than treating policy changes as a series of one-off hurdles, organizations should view regulatory compliance as a continuous and strategic business function. The question is no longer if rules will change, but how quickly firms can respond.”
Lisa Osofsky, Partner and Managing Director

Technology

Fewer than 40% say their organizations are very prepared to address cybersecurity incidents, data privacy breaches, and digital disruption

“As business leaders increasingly look to adopt AI tools across their organizations, they should create a dedicated AI leadership role and/or cross-functional task force to oversee implementation, risk management, policies and guidance, and ethical considerations. At the same time, organizations should invest in robust cybersecurity and data privacy frameworks, including proactive monitoring systems, as well as employee trainings and incident response plans to minimize the impact of data breaches and digital disruptions.”
Vineet Sehgal, Partner and Managing Director
"As threat actors grow more coordinated and technology advances at breakneck speed, firms can no longer afford to operate with siloed cybersecurity functions and outdated response plans. The most forward-looking companies are embedding cyber risk into enterprise-wide strategy—treating it not just as an IT issue, but as a board-level imperative tied directly to brand, innovation, and market value."
Beth Musumeci, Global Leader of Cyber

Litigation

Nearly 70% believe corporate litigation will increase in 2025

“As risks increase, so does the likelihood of litigation. Such litigation is often handled in-house—but as disputes become more and more complex, businesses will look for specialized and sophisticated outside counsel who can address their most critical compliance gaps.”
Greig Taylor, Partner and Managing Director
“Organizations that treat litigation risk as a core business driver—integrating legal analytics, cross-functional scenario planning, and early warning systems—will be far better equipped to navigate the challenges associated with potential legal risks arising from the rapidly changing economic, regulatory, and geopolitical landscape."
Iona McCall, EMEA Co-Head of Economics Consulting

 

Regional Spotlights

 

Our survey included a significant number of respondents from key regions including the U.S., Asia-Pacific (China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore), Western Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy), the UK, and Latin America (Brazil, Mexico). 

 

View our regional findings

 

Industry Hot Spots

Financial Services Respondents

Manufacturing Respondents

Technology Respondents

Looking forward

“Changes are happening so fast it’s hard to keep up while also training staff.”

- Chief Compliance Officer, accountancy

“[We] do not have the resources necessary to adapt to major changes.”

- Chief Regulatory Officer, consumer goods

“Too many unknowns, too much unpredictability.”

- Chief Compliance Officer, healthcare and life sciences

These sentiments from senior executives who took our survey ring truer than ever as the year advances. While the comments refer to potential regulatory changes, they could easily apply to the many other risk factors facing today’s organizations—from economic volatility and new tariffs to heightened cybersecurity threats and AI advancements to anticipated spikes in financial crime and corporate litigation. 

As new challenges are added to the global risk landscape, the insights from our survey and subject matter experts can help business leaders navigate this complex period. In addition to our key findings, we’ll be rolling out subsequent perspectives, taking a deeper dive into key themes and industries as well as region-specific findings. Throughout, we’ll update our analysis to incorporate the latest headlines and key policy changes impacting your business. 

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About our survey respondents

The data for AlixPartners' 2025 Global Risk Survey is based on a survey of 1,000 senior executives serving in legal, regulatory/compliance, and risk functions across the globe. Respondents were surveyed from February 5 – February 28, 2025 and include professionals from the U.S., the UK, Western Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland), Asia Pacific (China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and Singapore), and Latin America (Brazil and Mexico). Our survey incorporated responses from executives across a wide variety of industries, with the largest numbers coming from financial services (21%), technology (20%), and manufacturing (14%). 

 

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