According to the survey conducted by Collaboration, Management and Control Solutions (CMCS), only 59 percent of Middle Eastern firms have a risk management policy in place, as opposed to 73.5 percent in the UK.

Of those Middle Eastern organizations that do have policies, 59 percent fully implement the policy and adhere to pre-defined procedures for risk management, compared to 73.4 percent in the UK, it added.

“Although our survey indicates an upward trend in risk management adoption in the Middle East, it also shows more room for improvement in terms of policies and practices,” said Bassam Samman, CEO and Founder, CMCS.

In the Middle East, 45 percent of firms with formal risk management policies have a dedicated risk management officer; 49 percent do not start projects without a complete risk register; 61 percent assess each risk against the probability of occurrence and impact; and 69 percent of management identify risk response actions for high-exposure risks, the survey revealed.

“Project-based companies are especially encouraged to enforce better risk management frameworks in light of the volatility of their markets. While projects are inherently risky, a better understanding of potential hazards and how to prevent or deal with them puts a company in a more advantageous position, which makes sound business sense,” he said.

Survey results also showed that among regional firms with risk management provisions, 53 percent develop a complete risk management plan for each project; 53 percent formally implement their plans and conduct periodic risk assessment reviews; and 46 percent update their risk database after project completion.

Risk management studies are of significant value to the region, where project and investment failures commonly trace back to poor strategies, the report said.

Enterprises in developing countries are more likely than those in “developed” economies to reap risk management benefits by increasing competitive advantage (81 percent to 44 percent) and encouraging innovation and creativity (73 percent to 43 percent), according to another report.

Developing countries are also significantly more likely to be investing heavily in risk management strategies and systems than their counterparts in the US and Europe (54 percent to 36 percent), revealed a study by Datamonitor.

Datamonitor was commissioned by BT to undertake the study of 2,000 senior executives in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, China, India and South Africa.

“In the Middle East, there is an increase in the amount of risk management initiatives. Companies are finding it difficult to hire adequate resources to perform risk management. Therefore, they are looking at organizations to provide this service,” said Tareque Choudhury, Head of BT’s Security Practice for Middle East and Africa.