From geopolitical conflicts to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence technology, the world is changing at a faster pace than ever before. Global political uncertainty and unstable economic conditions have only intensified since we published Keeping us up at night 2023 in early January 2023.
Between 22 September and 16 October 2023, KPMG surveyed over 300 Australian business leaders to find out where their priorities and concerns lie for the coming year, and three to five years into the future.
In Keeping us up at night 2024, we reveal business leaders’ top challenges for 2024 and the short to medium-term, as well as the five most pertinent Australian social issues impacting the business environment. Experts from KPMG dissect three key risks facing Australian businesses in 2024 and offer vital insights and advice to help businesses face these challenges head-on.
What’s keeping Australian business leaders up at night?
Top 5 challenges for
businesses in 2024
- Protecting and dealing with cyber risks (43%)
- Talent acquisition, retention and re/upskilling workers to meet a digitised future (42%)
- Dealing with evolving regulatory processes, reporting changes and impacts (41%)
- Digital transformation and optimisation, and extracting organisational value from it (38%)
- Cost controls in an inflationary environment (38%)
Top 5 challenges for businesses in the next 3–5 years
- Protecting and dealing with cyber risks (35%)
- Talent acquisition, retention and re/upskilling to meet a digitised future (35%)
- New technologies (AI, machine learning, blockchain and distributed ledger technology, quantum computing) and the use cases and ethics that arise during implementation (32%)
- Digital transformation and optimisation, and extracting organisational value from it (30%)
- Dealing with evolving regulatory processes, reporting changes and impacts (29%)
Top 5 social issues
in Australia
- Geopolitical disruptions and shifting levels of regional/global tension and cooperation (50%)
- Embracing the economic opportunities that climate change, energy transition and the move towards net zero presents (46%)
- Preparing for a future skills gap – technology, data scientists, health workforce shortfall (46%)
- Social impact of new and disruptive technologies such as AI, autonomous vehicles, Internet of Things, biotechnology and a different physical world (46%)
- Meeting the challenges of housing availability and affordability (33%)
Cyber risks impact digital trust
Recent major attacks have seen cyber security rise up the business agenda, with fear of the unknown pushing many leaders outside their comfort zones.
The nearly daily examples of cyber threats show that cyber security should be at the heart of business and used as a foundation to build digital trust among customers, suppliers and staff.
Talent retention and acquisition
Talent is moving down the priority rankings, possibly due to the substantial increase of migrants in Australia, but challenges persist.
Despite the record low unemployment levels, Australia still faces an intractable problem with a skills deficit. Too many of the migrant workers do not end up being leveraged in the sectors where they could make the biggest impact.
Cost controls in an inflationary environment
For the first time, cost of living and interest rate hikes have emerged as a top ten priority – with waning consumer confidence a cause for concern.
Wage–cost pressure is a key reason why inflation is still running at levels more than twice as high as it was prior to the pandemic and is still expected to remain above the RBA target well into 2025.
Keeping us up at night 2024
Download the report for a detailed analysis of the top challenges that face business leaders in 2024, their concerns for the next 3–5 years, and the way forward.
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Helping business combat these challenges
Whether your challenge is with cyber security, talent retention or cost optimisation, KPMG provides tailored advice based on our extensive experience and sector knowledge.
