As part of our annual *Navigating* series, this article brings together insights from clients, colleagues and experts to highlight the key trends shaping business strategy and audit planning in 2026. It reflects a shift from meeting regulatory deadlines to embedding resilience, strengthening supplier risk management, and integrating sustainability, risk and governance into day-to-day decision-making. Organisations are expected to move from project-based compliance to business-as-usual operating models, supported by more sophisticated stress testing, stronger third-party oversight, and assured sustainability disclosures. At the same time, risk functions are being repositioned as enablers of growth, with a focus on efficiency, deeper monitoring, and emerging regulatory priorities such as non-financial misconduct. Cyber risk, technology resilience and third-party dependencies remain critical, particularly as AI accelerates both threats and transformation opportunities. The focus on AI, data and analytics is becoming more pragmatic, prioritising low-risk, high-value use cases, ethical data use and preserving human judgement. Overall, 2026 is defined by the need to better manage supply chain dependencies, mature and integrate risk management frameworks, and deliver cost-effective capability through upskilling, automation and partnerships—an approach that Crowe supports through practical, tailored solutions that go beyond compliance to help organisations navigate change with confidence.
Originally Published by Crowe UK, on 9 December 2025
