Business Considerations for 2022

The business climate is set to be more encouraging in 2022, in great part due to the changes and adaptations companies had to make to stay competitive during these past two years of unprecedented events. However, global issues, such as high inflation, rising interest rates, and the global shortage of semiconductors, remain the most pressing challenges.

To face these challenges, companies can leverage key initiatives within their organizations, such as the growing digital adoption, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies, cybersecurity plans, and prioritizing people, including the well-being of workers in every decision.

Upskilling talent while understanding their needs

A company’s workforce is crucial to its success. Training and understanding the talent and focusing on their personal needs, will be essential to develop their maximum professional potential. Centering on people and encouraging their development through technology ─ by implementing hybrid models to stay productive, offering new ways of working and collaborating, or creating better opportunities to have a positive impact ─ have been some of the most significant changes in the current social and business climate.

It is also crucial to build a culture of belonging within the company. This can be achieved through continuous efforts to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in the organization. When the workforce reflects the community it serves, there is a greater understanding of the world at large, thus benefiting creativity and decision-making.

Cybersecurity, an urgent investment

The digital acceleration of the past months enabled the adoption of remote work, new business models, and technological capabilities; it also increased the number of cyberattacks targeting large companies. According to data from PwC Mexico's Digital Trust Insights Survey 2022, 63 percent of Mexican companies foresee an increase in cyberattacks on their cloud services and the internet of things (IoT) in the next 12 months. With this in mind, over the following years, it is vital to invest in cybersecurity tools, such as internal controls and processes, training, greater collaboration between CEOs and CISOs to create preventative strategies, restructuring of the security team, and the reduction of obsolete technology to simplify cybersecurity processes.

The importance of ESG

Even before the pandemic, ESG aspects had already become increasingly relevant. More than ever, investors look forward  to having greater certainty when investing in companies that adopt these practices. On the other hand, companies are joining efforts to achieve global and local commitments in terms of sustainability and other ESG matters, such as those described in the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

These ESG commitments go way further. They seek to make the companies assume the responsibility of promoting change in the communities where they operate and throughout the business sector. This ranges from listening closely to employees to driving ESG measures. It is not just to tick off a checklist but to create value and sustainable outcomes.

At PwC Mexico, we have held a solid commitment to companies and stakeholders over 115 years through innovative global tools and strategies, such as the New Equation, that guide actions to tackle current challenges. In this sense, our two key challenges are to help our clients build trust, which is infamously hard to earn but easy to lose, and generate sustainable results over time.

This is why we aim to make a meaningful difference in the world. And we do it every day, through the choices we make and the actions we take. We are also confident that trust in economic growth must be promoted collaboratively by organizations, society, and the government to face shifting societal expectations within an environment where competition and disruption risks are more pronounced.