Poll: Execs feeling pressure to assume greater risks in pursuit of growth

As private company CEOs begin to feel more confident about the economy, nearly half (48 percent) of executives surveyed for PricewaterhouseCoopers' Private Company Trendsetter Barometer say they feel pressure to assume greater risks in pursuit of growth. However, approximately 87 percent of respondents believe they are already taking sufficient risks to capitalize on opportunities, highlighting a contradiction between current perception and future expectations.

Additionally, a majority of respondents (77 percent) believe their companies' risk management function has been effective in detecting financial risk during the past two to three years, with 60 percent feeling very confident that they will be able to effectively manage that category of risk over the next few years (36 percent are somewhat confident). Approximately two out of ten (20 percent) cited some misgivings about their processes, either lack of effectiveness (9 percent) or a mixed picture (11 percent).

CEOs Forecast Additional Risk; Want to Improve Processes
While the majority believe that their risk management functions have been effective, 84 percent of respondents feel it is important that they continue to improve their risk management processes to address increasing risks. This could be in response to increased risk forecasts, with 37 percent of respondents expecting the risks their companies face over the next two to three years will be greater than the risks they faced over the last few years. Forty-five percent think the risks will remain about the same. Top areas (cited as extremely or very important) for improvement include:

Quality and timeliness of information                                 71%
  Availability of information                                           65%
  Quantifying risks                                                     59%
  Culturally embedding risk management                                  57%
  Identifying and measuring the potential benefits of risk              55%
  Overcoming conflicting corporate priorities                           51%
  Integrating risk management with business processes                   51%
  Lack of risk-management knowledge/skills across the company           51%

"It's interesting that the majority feel their functions are effective, yet also believe they need to improve some important areas of the risk management process," says Ken Esch, partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Private Company Services practice. "This just shows how forward-looking private company executives are: acknowledging the economy and their business plans are changing and taking steps now to ensure future business stability."

International Marketers More Confident than Domestic-Only Counterparts
Interestingly, international marketers (companies operating abroad) are more confident than their domestic counterparts about managing operational risk (52 percent very confident vs. 44 percent). And compared with their domestic-only peers, international marketers are also less concerned about risks around financial misrepresentation, high financial leverage, and asset misappropriation.

Percentage of companies concerned about these risks over the next 2-3
                                    years
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

   Type of risk
   ------------
                                  International
                                    marketers     Domestic-only
   M&A                                        49%             50%
   Supply chain integrity                     49%             38%
   New products & services                    52%             31%
   High financial leverage                    24%             41%
   International market expansion     48%*                    25%
   Financial misrepresentation                25%             43%
   Cybercrime                                 24%             29%
   Product piracy                             36%             15%
   Asset misappropriation                     21%             28%
   Monetary hedging                           23%             15%

             *62% for U.S. companies operating in emerging markets

"Assessing potential foreign operations or business partners, and the attendant risks, is often a challenge," says Esch. "Domestic companies that haven't made such an assessment - and many of them might not have the in-house expertise to do so - are less likely to have as full an appreciation of international-market risks as companies that are actively doing business abroad."

This may account, in part, for why international marketers are somewhat more confident than domestic-only companies (some of which may be contemplating international expansion) about the ability to respond to and mitigate risk (39 percent very confident versus 45 percent).

"Now that companies have weathered the economic storm, they're looking to grow again," says Esch. "But many of them feel the domestic market is tapped out, so they are looking for growth opportunities in international markets. That generally means taking on more risk, especially for companies entering foreign jurisdictions for the first time - places where they may know little about the local business practices or regulations."