A recent global survey conducted by the insurance group Allianz across 30 countries (the Allianz Risk Barometer on Business Risks 2014) found Australian businesses were more concerned than anywhere else about the risks associated with changes to legislation and regulation.
While ranking as the number four risk worldwide, regulatory change ranked second as the biggest risk for Australian businesses. It is a dramatic change from a year ago when Australian businesses saw regulatory change as their eighth biggest risk.
Interestingly an impromptu survey taken by CompliSpace at the end of last year, found three of the top five risks were compliance related. The top risk related to WHS compliance, followed by compliance with the new Privacy Laws that come into effect on 12 March 2014. The general risk associated with managing compliance within schools came in at number five.
For those schools that have enterprise risk programs in place (and for those that don’t) it is worth checking the risks noted in the Allianz survey to see whether you have considered them.
Top global risks and relevant mitigation strategies relevant to schools included:
| Risk | Mitigation Strategy |
| Business Interruption | Business Continuity Management (BCM) Program |
| Natural Catastrophes | Specific Plans for Natural Disasters such as Bushfires and Major Storms, BCM and Critical Incident Response Programs |
| Fire, Explosion | Fire Prevention Policy, BCM and Critical Incident Response Programs |
| Changes in Legislation and Regulation | Compliance Program |
| Loss of Reputation or brand value | Enterprise Risk Management Program |
| Cyber crime, IT Failures, Espionage | IT Risk Management and Disaster Recovery Program |
| Theft, Fraud, Corruption | Fraud & Corruption Control Program |
| Talent Shortage, Aging Workforce | Human Resources Program |
How well do you feel your school is placed to manage these risk events if they were to occur?