“Infrastructure 2007: A Global Perspective”

“Infrastructure 2007: A Global Perspective” report by the Urban Land Institute, and sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP. 

“In recent years, the flood of private capital available for investment in commercial property has driven up prices globally. At the same time, the world’s public infrastructure markets have been starved for capital — governments have not had nearly enough funds to meet growing needs for infrastructure development, modernization, and maintenance. Seeing opportunity, more private equity funds, investment banks, commercial banks, and other global investors are beginning to invest in infrastructure. Australia was among one of the first countries to develop models such as public/private partnerships and infrastructure funds to link private capital and infrastructure. Now Europe has widely adapted such models, and they are starting to come into greater use in Asia, and, more recently, in the United States.”

Protiviti’s 2007 U.S. Risk Barometer

Protiviti is a leading provider of independent risk consulting and internal audit services, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half International Inc. Protiviti’s 2007 U.S. Risk Barometer is in-depth analysis of the risk profiles and risk management practices and strategies being employed today by the country’s largest organizations, and includes survey responses from 150 C-level executives. The objectives of the global study are to (1) identify the nature of the risks undertaken by leading corporations worldwide, (2) understand the appetite for risk and concerns with regard to risk of senior executives, and (3) understand the current state of these corporations’ risk management capabilities.  

Among the key findings from the 2007 U.S. Risk Barometer:

*Nearly half of executives rated their organizations to be less than “very effective” at identifying and managing their significant risks, thus leaving them vulnerable to unanticipated losses, reduced productivity and business disruptions.*Of the top 10 risks identified for 2007, competitor risk ranked highest overall, followed by customer satisfaction, the regulatory environment, information systems and IT security, and changing markets.*Views about the benefits of risk management are evolving toward an increased appreciation of the potential organizational impact. In the 2006 survey, “lower insurance premiums” were the top-ranked benefit; however, this year, “quicker identification of risk” was the most oft-cited benefit.

While competitor risk ranked highest overall, the Risk Barometer study found the top risk varied by industry groupings:

 *Manufacturing, distribution and technology – Competitor*Financial services and real estate – Financial markets*Healthcare and life sciences – Regulatory environment*Media, hospitality and services – Customer satisfaction*Consumer products and retail – Competitor*Energy and utilities – Regulatory environment

 

Symantec’s 2007 IT Risk Management Report: “confidence in a connected world”

Symantec’s corporate tagline: “Confidence in a connected world.”  

Symantec’s IT Risk Management Report examines IT risk based on interviews with more than 500 IT executives and professionals worldwide.  The article shows how Symantec’s approach to IT Risk Management can help organizations reduce risk exposure, maximize IT performance, and control costs.  And that organizations today must address four main types of IT risk: security; availability; performance; and compliance. 

Among the report’s findings: *62% of organizations expect a regulatory breach and major information loss in the next five years. *66% of organizations perceive high/critical operational risk in finance and administration. *61% of organizations are not highly effective at governance, compliance, and continuous improvement. *24% of IT staff time is devoted to addressing business application performance delays.

PricewaterhouseCoopers and *connectedthinking

PricewaterhouseCoopers marked its fifth year as a Proud Partner of THE PLAYERS Championship, featured it’s *connectedthinking ad campaign, and positioning statement – the way the firm tells its story and demonstrates its difference.

According to Brandsandbranding, “Connected Thinking is the standard of excellence that distinguishes the firm in the marketplace and supports its strategic growth as it moves forward. Connected Thinking articulates what the firm does and what it can accomplish when its people perform at their very best – when its breadth of service, depth of expertise and geographic coverage are leveraged to serve clients’ needs.”

Some examples from a current or prospective client: Great advice comes from Connected Thinking. How?

*We bring you the best thinking by working together, across industries, territories and services.

*We bring you a wider understanding of your issues, by looking at them from a number of angles.

*We manage how our actions in one area affect the rest of your organisation, by understanding your business in depth and as a whole.

*We help solve our clients’ issues by applying best practice solutions across all divisions.

*We help you learn from best practice, by linking our experience and thinking within and between industries.

*We make sure the value and trust we build for you will keep on growing, by balancing your short-term needs with long-term goals.

*We find fresh approaches to your issues, by stretching each other to develop new perspectives that challenge our, and your, thinking.