Section 2: Organisational resilience

Geopolitical risk remains a top concern for CFOs

Geopolitical risk remains a leading concern, with 70 per cent of CFOs identifying it as a top–tier threat (as seen in Figure 6, section 1). Conflict in the Middle East (53 per cent), energy and price volatility (51 per cent), critical material and logistical disruptions (43 per cent and 37 percent, respectively), as well as trade policy shifts (29 per cent), stand out as the key concerns. This suggests that external conditions are a key factor in how CFOs assess financial risk and business performance.

Resilience gaps are seen to have direct business consequences

CFOs identify clear business risks associated with insufficient organisational resilience. The two risks identified as among the biggest are lower profitability (52 per cent) and higher recovery and response costs (37 per cent). One in four CFOs also points to lower scalability, reinforcing that resilience is relevant not only to business continuity but also to sustaining growth. 

Focus on organisational resilience

In response to these risks, CFOs are placing significant emphasis on organisational resilience.  Overall, 88 per cent of CFOs report that resilience is a focus, with nearly one in five saying they have “a lot of focus” on it.

Our survey also reveals a clear resilience gap between larger and smaller organisations. The share reporting “a lot of focus” on organisational resilience is 17 percentage points higher among larger firms, underscoring a meaningful difference in resilience focus.

Challenges to increasing organisational resilience

Despite the clear strategic focus, translating resilience from a boardroom priority to operational reality can still pose a challenge. The primary barriers appear to be more operational than strategic, with most CFOs pointing to limited organisational bandwidth to manage and execute initiatives (54 per cent), followed by difficulty identifying and prioritising the actions that would have the greatest impact (46 per cent) as the greatest challenges. For some organisations, the challenge also lies in articulating the value case, with 40 per cent pointing to difficulty quantifying the expected return on resilience initiatives.

Measures to improve organisational resilience

Our survey suggests that Danish CFOs are strengthening resilience through a range of targeted actions rather than a single, common approach. While priorities differ across organisations, the responses show action across several relevant areas, led by building resilience into corporate enterprise risk management processes (47 per cent).

This focus extends beyond traditional risk management. CFOs are also prioritising cross-functional governance (38 per cent) and strengthening internal capabilities (37 per cent). In addition, targeted investments in advanced technologies to enhance reporting and scenario planning (27 per cent) suggest that CFOs are looking for data-driven foresight to foster their decision-making.

Actions taken against geopolitical risks

When narrowing the focus specifically to geopolitical risk, CFOs are responding by building stronger anticipation and response mechanisms into the planning cycle. Scenario analysis (61 per cent), resilience stress testing (55 per cent), and the integration of geopolitical risk into corporate planning (43 per cent) indicate that finance leaders are preparing for a wider range of outcomes and embedding geopolitical uncertainty more directly into decision making. Notably, more than half of CFOs report full implementation of these core planning-led actions. They are also reducing concentration risk by cutting dependence on specific markets (31 per cent) and reassessing production footprints (30 per cent), though many remain in planning or piloting these shifts.

Outlook

Looking ahead, Danish CFOs report a focus on strengthening resilience-related operating capabilities over the next three years. Areas include cybersecurity awareness (50 per cent), greater agility in strategy and processes (43 per cent), and improved disruption identification (43 per cent). The emphasis remains on capabilities within the organisation that support earlier detection of disruption, faster response, and continuity across operations.