2022 Forecast: A Roundup of Predictions Across Governance and Expanding Risk

With more risks to navigate in addition to an increased swath of responsibilities falling on corporate legal departments, there’s a lot to consider in terms of preparedness and planning for 2022. To support those conversations, our experts across numerous practices have provided predictions for what’s to come this year in the areas of governance and expanding risk. Their insights are below.

• "In 2022, the burden on general counsel is increasing yet again, particularly with regard to risk. The risk landscape is widening and becoming more difficult to navigate in areas spanning compliance, regulatory enforcement, data privacy, information security, emerging data sources and ongoing effects from the pandemic. The general counsel's ability to meet intense risk, people and technology challenges will be tested over the long term, making endurance the name of the game for 2022." – Wendy King, Senior Managing Director
• “In the new year, I believe several side effects of the 2021 “Great Resignation” will increasingly impact corporate risk. Much like other crisis events in the past, the Great Resignation will spur a rise in fraudulent activity, insider threats, data leakage and IP theft, which will result in more (and more complex) legal, regulatory and internal investigations. To adequately respond, organizations will need to quickly address several critical areas, including governance procedures to prevent data loss, monitoring for suspicious activity and a refresh of investigations methodologies.” – Veeral Gosalia, Senior Managing Director
• "Among most corporations, blockchain and cryptocurrency projects have lagged behind other digital transformation projects, but there is recent renewed interest in the range of use cases possible, which is leading an increasing number of organizations to begin reconsidering and exploring the opportunities for their business. I expect we'll see momentum this year in blockchain adoption to address persistent supply chain disruption and support organizations in meeting Environmental Social Governance benchmarks by providing transparent processes and data trust. On the cryptocurrency side, 2022 will bring continued interest in M&A and funding of cryptocurrency and digital asset businesses, which will drive demand for specialized due diligence and advisory support." – Steve McNew, Senior Managing Director
• "With the growing number and widening scope of security-focused regulations and standards being adopted government agencies and incorporated into a greater number of commercial contracts (such as the DOD's CMMC framework), security considerations will increasingly impact stakeholders beyond the CIO and CISO. In 2022, organizations should expect to see security issues touch the daily activities and decisions of business users, in-house legal teams, compliance officers, internal audit professionals, product development teams and executive leaders. This trend will also accelerate the push to cloud services, as organizations reduce their own infrastructure and leverage advances in the compliance, security and governance capabilities offered by the leading technology providers." – Adam Ingber, Senior Director
• “Maturation in endpoint security and the zero trust security framework will drive greater adoption of cloud managed security platforms and the zero trust model. SOCs will use AI and automation in a greater capacity in an attempt to thwart alert fatigue and authentication will continue to evolve.” – Jon Ringler, Vice President, Security and Compliance

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The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals.