An increasingly complex challenge

The relationship between risk and performance improvement is an increasingly complex and central business challenge, with business performance directly connected to the recognition and effective management of risk.

Whether your focus is on business transformation or sustaining achievement, having the right advisors on your side can make all the difference.

Our 18,000 advisory professionals form one of the broadest global advisory networks of any professional organization, delivering seasoned multi-disciplinary teams that work with our clients to deliver a powerful client experience.

We understand that to achieve your potential as an organization you require services that respond to your specific issues, so we bring our broad sector experience and deep subject matter knowledge to bear in a proactive and objective way.

Escalating the role of internal audit

Internal auditors face new opportunities and a growing skills gap as management increasingly looks to them for business improvement recommendations and coverage of a broader range of strategic and operational risks. “Escalating the role of internal audit: Ernst & Young’s 2008 Global Internal Audit Survey” examines the current and evolving state of the internal audit function and how chief audit executives are meeting the heightened expectations of stakeholders.

Managing through uncertainty: Taking a balanced approach

With the global economy in a crisis, corporate growth has been severely hit and access to capital has become tight. Yet, despite the changes in the economy and the uncertainties that persist, the markets still expect businesses to perform. To guide your company, (pdf, 581kb) it is important to understand how leading companies have behaved during previous downturns, and to know what appropriate actions to take.

A market in turmoil: European treasury survey

Rapidly shifting exchange rates, uncertainty over interest rates and rising commodity prices are affecting the way treasury managers perceive risk. Especially during the recent market turmoil (pdf, 2mb), cash management and bank relationships are, more than ever, key to securing a company’s financing. Learn what treasury managers from 55 companies across Europe think about the difficulties and challenges their departments currently encounter.

The right data for the right decisions

Leading organizations are increasing investments in analytics to increase control, generate insights and anticipate, or even predict future business events and scenarios. We joined with APQC, an internationally recognized resource for process and performance improvement, to benchmark how these organizations use data and analytics to attain peak performance.

The report includes case studies and leading practices for establishing an analytics framework, designing measures, and using the results to drive decision making.

The top 10 business risks for 2009

What challenges are likely to affect your company in 2009 and beyond? The credit crunch aftershocks and the deepening global recession, rank as the most important business risks for 2009, displacing regulation and compliance from the top spot. Green initiatives, competition from new entrants, human capital issues, and reputational risk all rose in The 2009 Ernst & Young business risk report — the top 10 risks for global business.

IT Trends: Cost reduction through virtualization and cloud computing

Cost reduction is “top-of-mind” for most business executives in today’s turbulent environment and IT functions are a likely target. Many organizations are looking to drive costs out of the IT function, and still others are looking for ways where technology can help rationalize costs across the enterprise. Ernst & Young has published a new whitepaper that addresses two important IT cost reduction opportunities—virtualization and cloud computing (pdf, 443 kb).

Risk management in emerging markets

How are companies managing risk as they invest and operate in emerging markets? Analysis of the experience of over 900 companies from developed and emerging regions in "Risk management in emerging markets" reveals different expectations in different markets, as well as leading practices, and key principles for risk management.

Preparing for the year-end in the current environment

The recent turmoil in the financial markets has created significant uncertainty about the future. In addition to this disarray, the US SEC's release of its IFRS Roadmap is a clear signal to the undeniable convergence of global accounting standards. Ernst & Young’s Global IFRS Services is launching a new series of Thought Center Webcasts for companies currently using IFRS to explore these issues. Watch this archived 25 November webcast to learn more.

What’s next for the CFO?

CFOs are finding themselves caught between expectations that they will help create a company’s strategic direction, and the weight of compliance and regulation. How can a CFO balance the demands on their time? We surveyed 250 top C-suite executives across the world to gain insight into what’s next for the CFO.

Weighing the costs of corruption or compliance

Corruption is a growing problem for businesses. Our 10th global fraud survey offers analysis of insights from nearly 1,200 executives into their experiences of bribery and corruption. We also describe the steps to create what we believe is an effective anti-corruption compliance program.

Moving beyond compliance

Organizations are moving beyond regulatory and corporate compliance to protect their brand and reputation. Ernst & Young's "2008 Global Information Security Survey" looks at the current state of information security, and offers recommendations for creating an improvement agenda for the future.

European outsourcing survey 2008

Outsourcing is thriving and is increasingly integrated into many organizations' business models. The "European outsourcing survey 2008", a survey of more than 600 decision makers across six European countries, examines the future of outsourcing as a business tool.

Supply chain sustainability

Sustainability offers opportunities in reputation, cost reduction and revenue growth, while the greatest risk was perceived to be an increased cost base. In "Green for go", based on insight from a survey of 257 executives, we focus on the supply chain, and examine the business case for sustainability.