Download the full "Risk Leader Digitisation Priorities for 2025" Report today and discover how 200+ Australian organisations are preparing to lead in a rapidly evolving risk landscape.
As the pace of change accelerates, Chief Risk Officers (CROs) face growing challenges in safeguarding their organisations against an evolving risk landscape. From economic uncertainty, technology disruption, increased competitive forces, regulatory pressures to cybersecurity threats, the demands on risk leaders have never been greater. To explore how Australian organisations are preparing for the future, ReadiNow, in collaboration with LexisNexis, surveyed over 200 risk professionals across diverse industries. The result is a comprehensive report, "Risk Leader Digitisation Priorities for 2025," which highlights key insights and priorities for the year ahead.
Key Findings for 2025
- Digitising Risk, Controls, and Compliance Frameworks Is a Top Priority
For 50% of respondents, the integration and further digitisation of risk, controls, and compliance frameworks are the primary focus for 2025. This reflects an industry-wide effort to enhance transparency, governance, and decision-making in risk management.
- Operational Resilience and Cybersecurity Are Front and Centre
With regulatory drivers such as APRA’s CPS 230 and CPS 234 at the forefront, 70% of organisations are prioritising digitisation for operational resilience, including vendor management, incident response, and business continuity. Similarly, 60% of organisations are focused on enhancing cybersecurity frameworks to address increasing threats and regulatory requirements.
- ESG and WHS Digitisation Takes a Backseat Amid Economic Pressures
Despite heightened regulatory and stakeholder focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Workplace Health and Safety (WHS), these areas have been deprioritised. Organisations are choosing to allocate resources to immediate compliance and operational resilience needs, risking potential reputational and compliance challenges.
- AI will be an Enabler of Efficiency and Strategic Insight
Risk leaders see AI as a critical tool for reducing administrative burdens, automating compliance processes, and enhancing risk insights. Early adopters are already benefiting from AI’s capabilities, positioning themselves to stay ahead of emerging challenges and opportunities.
- Efficiency Is the Number One Driver for Digitisation
In a cost-constrained environment, 23% of respondents identified increased efficiency as the top benefit of digitising risk and compliance processes. Improved data quality, risk insights, and governance—cited collectively by 50% of respondents—are also highly valued outcomes.
- CROs Are Leading Enterprise-Wide Risk Digitisation Strategies
Chief Risk Officers are emerging as pivotal leaders in driving risk management digitisation. To succeed, CROs are securing buy-in from other executives, including CEOs, CIOs, and CFOs, while ensuring alignment with Boards to push forward enterprise-wide transformation.
The Role of Technology in Driving Change
ReadiNow’s no-code platform and ReadiAI tool are empowering risk leaders to meet these challenges head-on. From automating compliance reporting to suggesting risk and control descriptions, ReadiAI is transforming how organisations approach risk management. These tools provide the flexibility to integrate systems, enhance governance, and accelerate time-to-value—all while reducing costs and resource strain. Similarly, LexisNexis supports risk leaders with compliance solutions powered by AI, offering actionable insights and streamlining workflows to help organisations align with regulatory requirements more effectively.
Call to Action for Risk Leaders
The report underscores a clear mandate: digitisation is no longer optional—it’s a necessity. To thrive in 2025, risk leaders must take decisive action to stay ahead of the curve. The six critical actions outlined below will help organisations address their specific challenges and priorities:
- Empower Risk Leaders to lead cross-functional digitisation efforts and gain alignment from CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, and Boards.
- Digitise and integrate risk, controls, and compliance frameworks to build solid foundations for all other risk and compliance processes to leverage.
- Accelerate digitisation in operational resilience and cybersecurity to meet increasing regulatory requirements and mitigate rising risks.
- Focus on efficiency gains by leveraging AI and automation to streamline processes and improve data insights.
- Foster a culture of experimentation and innovation that embraces AI and other transformative technologies, enabling teams to learn, adapt, and drive meaningful results.
By embracing these priorities, risk leaders can transform risk management from a compliance-driven function into a strategic enabler of growth and resilience.
Download the full "Risk Leader Digitisation Priorities for 2025" Report today and discover how 200+ Australian organisations are preparing to lead in a rapidly evolving risk landscape.
About the Author
Jerome Nyssen
Chief Strategy Officer
ReadiNow
Jerome Nyssen brings over 25 years of global consulting and industry expertise to his role at ReadiNow, where he helps organisations build risk intelligence, navigate digital transformation and achieve sustainable growth.
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