Australia lagging global peers on resilience, new BDO data reveals
Australia lagging global peers on resilience, new BDO data reveals
Australian businesses are falling behind global peers in preparing for an increasingly volatile future, with new research revealing a troubling gap in resilience strategies among mid-tier organisations.
According to BDO’s latest global Techtonic States report, just 62 per cent of Australian business leaders rank resilience as their top organisational priority—well behind counterparts in the UK and Spain, where 78 per cent of leaders say the same.
The findings come at a time of escalating cyber threats, fractured supply chains and economic headwinds, raising serious questions about whether Australian companies are underestimating the scale and speed of disruption.
BDO Australia National Digital Leader, Nick Kervin, said that while resilience has emerged globally as the new competitive edge—essential not just to survive, but to thrive—Australian firms appear slower to pivot from reactive risk management to future-focused transformation.
“In this environment, resilience isn’t just a buzzword. It’s the baseline for competitiveness,” said Nick.
“We’re seeing international markets move quickly to embed agility and security into their operations, while too many Australian businesses are still stuck in a holding pattern—nervous about the risks, but not yet acting decisively to mitigate them.”
The report also revealed that global executives are increasingly preparing for a “World Fragmented”, an emerging future defined by geopolitical division, disrupted supply chains and digital threats.
More than half of all surveyed leaders foresee this scenario by 2028, yet many Australian businesses lack the infrastructure, skills and strategy to navigate it.
Compounding the issue is a sharp rise in cyber risk.
Over three-quarters of global leaders expect their organisation’s cybersecurity threat profile to worsen in the next 12 months, with concerns about data breaches and ransomware holding back AI investment across sectors.
“You can’t build resilience if you’re afraid to innovate,” said Nick. “And if we continue to delay AI adoption, we risk missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lift Australia’s productivity, which already lags well behind other OECD economies.”
“The message is clear: resilience is no longer optional, and the time for incremental change is over.”
For media enquiries:
Tate Papworth
Manager, Media
E: Tate.Papworth@bdo.com.au
Ph: 0433411189