There has been a notable increase in concern among financial leaders in the UK regarding the adoption of disruptive technologies, particularly AI, in the past two years, according to Accenture’s worldwide Risk Study.
The study found that compared to the global average of 25 per cent, 31 per cent of UK financial services executives expressed greater concern over disruptive technologies.
Around 35 per cent of executives in the UK believed that introducing disruptive technologies made financial risks more significant, whilst 39 per cent of executives globally believed that operational risks, such as supply chain disruption and cyberattacks, would have a bigger influence.
Meanwhile, around 33 per cent of respondents ranked regulatory and compliance challenges higher than disruptive technologies.
Additionally, it revealed that 24 per cent of C-suite executives worldwide and in the UK are very concerned about talent risk, which includes hiring, retention, burnout, and productivity.
Only 17 per cent of UK CEOs cited the relevance of climate change and environmental hazards as growing worries, compared with the global average of 24 per cent.
Furthermore, whereas 34 per cent of UK respondents were more concerned with rising operational risks, 56 per cent of respondents were more concerned with how climate concerns could affect broader financial dangers.
Accenture managing director, head of risk strategy & consulting Heather Adams says: “Implementing artificial intelligence has shot up the agenda for businesses across all sectors in the last two years, as business growth and efficiency benefits are becoming clearer. Amid the hype, it’s little surprise to see that UK financial services firms are increasingly concerned about the risks its implementation could pose to their businesses.
“New innovative technologies inherently bring some uncertainty, and with uncertainty comes risk in the short term. But the potential is even greater, and so to mitigate these risks, UK financial services businesses must implement robust governance frameworks and ensure thorough data quality control, something they are uniquely well-placed to do due to heavy regulation and governance requirements in the sector.
“If embraced in a safe and responsible way, AI and other disruptive technology will help mitigate some of the other risks, such as operational threats and talent productivity.”
