Navigating constant crises: South African executives face rising risks

SOUTH African executives are operating in an environment of “constant crisis”, with rising compliance and political risks adding to the geopolitical, scarce skills, growing regulatory burden, low economic growth, and environment risks that are being faced by their global peers.

- EDWARD WEST

This was according to Richard Walker, BDO South Africa's National Head of Risk Advisory Services, who spoke on Tuesday about the main findings from BDO’s newly released Global Risk Landscape Report 2025.

The report found that while 84% of 500 senior global executives describe their operating environment as one of “constant crisis," only 7% feel genuinely proactive in their risk management approach.

The need to continually adopt a cautious approach may come at the cost of growth and competitiveness in the business," said Walker in a presentation.