
Friday, May 8, 2009
Datapoints
Top 20 risk factors for U.S. tech firms
Most common risk factors among large U.S. tech firms include competition, and bringing new products to market, while economic uncertainty and international instability are among the other frequently cited issues.
| 1 | 97% Previous rank: 1 |
Competition and consolidation in technology sector |
| 2 | 91% Previous rank: 5 |
Failure to develop or market new products/services |
| 3 | 90% Previous rank: 4 |
Risks associated with international operations |
| 4 | 86% Previous rank: 3 |
Management of current and future M&A or divestitures |
| 5 | 86% Previous rank: 6 |
Intellectual property infringement |
| 6 | 85% Previous rank: 7 |
General economic conditions |
| 7 | 83% Previous rank: 11 |
Cyclical revenue (and subsequent fluctuating stock price) |
| 8 | 82% Previous rank: 8 |
Inability to attract or retain personnel and management |
| 9 | 81% Previous rank: 2 |
Changes to federal, state and local regulations and taxes |
| 10 | 78% Previous rank: 13 |
U.S. and foreign supplier/vendor concerns |
| 11 | 68% Previous rank: 10 |
Legal proceedings |
| 12 | 62% Previous rank: 15 |
Predicting customer demand |
| 13 | 62% Previous rank: 19 |
Accounting, internal controls and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance |
| 14 | 60% Previous rank: Not ranked |
Natural disasters, war, conflicts and terrorist attacks |
| 15 | 58% Previous rank: 12 |
Product liability, quality and safety issues |
| 16 | 52% Previous rank: Not Ranked |
Disruption of distribution of products/services |
| 17 | 51% Previous rank: 9 |
Pressures on pricing, margins and cost cutting |
| 18 | 50% Previous rank: 20 |
Indebtedness |
| 19 | 42% Previous rank: 14 |
Inability to acquire capital or financing |
| 20 | 41% Previous rank: Not Ranked |
Inability to maintain operational infrastructure and systems |
Source: BDO Seidman RiskFactor Report for Technology Businesses
To submit original research, contact editor Douglas Banks at dbanks@masshightech.com.







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