Corporations need to evaluate unforeseen risks to be successful: Experts

Large-scale corporations in today's day and age need to evaluate and strategise unforeseen risks in order to be globally successful even as they balance their linkages with the political class, according to experts.

"Role of social justice for companies and how they can foster justice for the larger community is key to succeed in today's world. Problems can be anticipated although they cannot be prevented. Every company need to evaluate all their stakeholders. Companies need to contribute to the society and see that they grow," said Ralph C.

Voltmer Jr of US-based corporate law firm Covington & Burling LLP, while addressing a seminar 'The Growth Net' organized by the Ananta Centre in association with the Ministry of External Affairs, Smadja and Smadja Strategic Advisory and CNBC TV18.

He was speaking at a session on 'What Should Keep Us Awake At Night: The risk of non business risks' that saw experts highlighting the fact that global conglomerates cannot work on silos anymore and they cannot afford to not take into account the opinion and matters of all stakeholders involved.

"In order to address unforeseen risks, companies need to have in order governance, credibility and accountability. Companies need to tell the truth and take responsibility of their actions. Gone are the days when you can remain silent and have an 'no-comment' stance," said Ernest Z. Bower, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bower Group Asia, USA.

The experts were commenting in the wake of some of the massive corporate mishaps that have occurred in India and the companies had to face flak due to these unforeseen risks. Some of them were Uber taxi rape incident and HSBC whistleblower case.

According to Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Director, John Keells Group PLC, Sri Lanka companies today can witness unforeseen risks coming from geopolitical events taking place across the world such as the tensions in East and South China seas, China being kept out of the mega trade pacts such as the TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and unrest in the Middle East and African countries.

"The middle class today have developed a distrust for corporations because they are having the political class in their pockets and there is complete absence of rule of law," said Soli Özel, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey.