Aon | Professional Services Practice
Aon Global Risk Management Survey 2025 Professional Service Firm Results: EMEA versus North America
Release Date: January 2026The tenth edition of Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey 2025 provides organizations with key risk-related insights to help them make informed decisions and compete in an increasingly complex and risky business environment. This Insight compares the top ten current risks and top five future risks of professional service firms in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and North America.
Key Takeaways
- Cybersecurity and AI are the top current and future risk for both regions.
- Talent attraction and retention is a universally recognized challenge, although the issue of succession planning is more prominent in North America.
- Regional differences reflect broader economic, regulatory, and geopolitical factors, with EMEA firms more exposed to regulatory factors and geopolitical volatility, and North American firms more focused on reputation, liability, and technological disruption.
The full survey, conducted in 11 languages, captured responses from 2,941 decision-makers across 63 countries and territories and 16 key industries, encompassing companies of all sizes, both public and private.
The Professional Service Practice at Aon previously compared the global and professional service firm results and the law firm and all professional service firm GRMS results.
Comparing and Contrasting Top Risks
Top Ten Current Risks
- Cyber Attacks/Data Breach
- Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
- Economic Slowdown or Slow Recovery
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Failure to Innovate/Meet Customer Needs
- Damage to Reputation or Brand
- Business Interruption
- Regulatory or Legislative Changes
- Geopolitical Volatility
- Data Privacy (including GDPR) Requirements or Non-Compliance
- Cyber Attacks/Data Breach
- Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
- Damage to Reputation/Brand
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Increasing Competition
- Economic Slowdown or Slow Recovery
- Third-Party Liability (e.g. E&O)
- Failure to Innovate or Meet Customer Needs
- Tech Failure or System Failure
- Inadequate Succession Planning
Comparison:
- Both regions rank Cyber Attack/Data Breach and Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent as their top two risks, reflecting universal concern about cybersecurity and talent and human capital.
- North America places a greater emphasis on reputational issues, third-party liability, technology/ system failure, and succession planning.
- EMEA’s risk landscape is more influenced by legislative and regulatory changes, geopolitical volatility, business interruption, and data privacy, likely reflecting stricter regulations (such as GDPR) and greater concerns about geopolitical instability.
- Economic Slowdown, Artificial Intelligence, and Increasing Competition are high priorities for both, but EMEA ranks economic risks higher than North America.
Top Five Future Risks
- Cyber Attacks/Data Breach
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Economic Slowdown/Slow Recovery
- Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
- Increasing Competition
- Cyber Attacks/Data Breach
- Failure to Attract or Retain Top Talent
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Increasing Competition
- Rapidly Changing Market Trends
Comparison:
- Unsurprisingly, cyber risk and AI are top future risks in both regions.
- North America is more concerned about rapidly changing market trends with EMEA focusing more on the risk of economic slowdown.
- Talent retention and competition are persistent risk concerns for both regions.
Conclusion
Comparing the 2025 GRMS professional service firms results of EMEA and North America confirms a common focus on cyber risk, talent challenges, and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence.
The main regional nuances include:
- EMEA’s heightened awareness of legislative/regulatory, geopolitical, and data privacy risks, reflecting its complex legal/regulatory environment.
- North American concerns more attuned to reputational, liability, and succession risks amid rapid market and technological change.
The findings reinforce the importance of regionally tailored risk management approaches and strategies. Professional service firms must remain agile and forward-thinking, leveraging their understanding of both global risk trends and local realities to protect their organizations, support their people, and deliver value to clients.
About Aon
Aon (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better — to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that help protect and grow their businesses.
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