With continued market uncertainty likely on tap for 2012, organisations may find themselves facing 10 major business challenges that will influence their boards’ audit committee agendas for the year, according to Protiviti, a global consulting firm.

“Boards of directors and their audit committees must be aware of the hurdles and opportunities that lie ahead if business conditions remain uncertain in 2012 and be prepared to advise their organisations quickly and strategically,” says Joseph Tarantino, president and CEO of Protiviti.

“Different industries understandably face different issues and priorities; therefore, the applicability and prioritization of challenges vary accordingly,” explains Jim DeLoach, a managing director with Protiviti.

2012 Outlook
According to Protiviti, the top 10 business challenges for non-financial services firms include:

1. Achieving customer loyalty
2. Managing supply chain risks and rising commodity costs
3. Managing increasingly complex privacy and information security issues
4. Managing regulatory change
5. Attracting, retaining and developing top talent
6. Improving business performance to enhance and sustain competitiveness
7. Adjusting to changing geopolitical dynamics
8. Capitalising on the pick-up in mergers and acquisitions and realizing value
9. Improving information for decision-making by focusing on data management and analytics
10. Increasing the focus on enterprise risk management (ERM) as risk profiles change

Based on these challenges, DeLoach said, “The top item on a board’s audit committee agenda should be to update the company’s risk profile to reflect the changing conditions. A lot has happened over the last year from supply chain disruptions to political and economic uncertainty in many countries."

DeLoach adds that as risk profiles change, companies need to take a fresh look at how well they are managing risks.

"It’s crucial that audit committees are satisfied that action plans are in place to manage the most critical existing risks as well as those that could emerge in the near future,” he says.