Jane Edwards
A new survey by Guidehouse and the Association for Federal Enterprise Risk Management has found that cybersecurity and privacy concerns top the list of risks that federal agencies consider to have the most significant impact on their organizations’ current and future strategic objectives.
The 2021 Federal Enterprise Risk Management Survey also found that 31 percent of ERM program leaders reported that they spend more than three-fourths of their time focusing on ERM programs compared with 17 percent the previous year, Guidehouse said Tuesday.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they saw an increase in budget for overall ERM activities in the last 12 months and 34 percent reported annual budgets for ERM initiatives greater than $1 million, up from 16 percent in 2020.
“Enhanced management decision-making” remains the top common benefit of federal ERM programs at 57 percent, followed by “improved strategy execution” at 41 percent.
According to the survey, bridging silos across the organization, rigid culture and resistance to change and executive level buy-in and support are the top three barriers organizations face in establishing a formal ERM program.
“These areas highlight where ERM program leaders may wish to redouble their efforts to ensure ERM provides value to decision makers in their organizations and helps to manage the uncertainties and complexities 2022 surely will bring,” said Kate Sylvis, ERM solutions leader at Guidehouse.
