Canadian executives rank cyber risk among top change drivers

Accenture has published new Canadian research showing that cybersecurity threats are becoming a leading driver of strategic change in the C-suite. The findings place cyber risk among the top three factors most likely to force a significant strategy shift for half of senior executives surveyed.

The data comes from the consulting firm's latest Pulse of Change report and focuses on how businesses are responding to the spread of artificial intelligence and agentic systems. While companies continue to invest in AI, the research suggests many leaders are less confident in their ability to manage disruption, including technology shocks, geopolitical instability and changing workforce demands.

Cybersecurity stood out in the survey. Half of Canadian C-suite leaders said cyber threats ranked among the three issues most likely to push their organisations into a major strategic shift in 2026, reflecting concern that rapid AI adoption is expanding the attack surface and increasing board-level scrutiny of risk controls.

Preparedness falls

The report also points to falling confidence in handling disruption. Only 49% of Canadian C-suite leaders said they felt very prepared to deal with technological disruption, down from 53% earlier in the year. Confidence was lower still on geopolitical disruption, with 33% saying they felt very prepared, compared with 39% earlier in the year.

Preparedness also weakened in other areas. The figures showed that 40% of leaders felt very prepared for talent disruption, 37% for economic disruption and 35% for consumer and social disruption. Together, the results suggest executives see threats multiplying faster than their organisations can adapt.

That shift in sentiment comes as economic confidence cools. Some 43% of leaders said they expected revenue growth to accelerate, a steep drop from 73% at the beginning of the year. At the same time, 89% said they anticipated a surge in inflation over the next 12 months because of geopolitical crises, while 75% expected slower global economic growth for the same reason.

External pressures are already affecting operations. Just over half, or 51%, said factors such as access constraints, regulatory complexity, economic volatility and compliance requirements had made operations more difficult over the previous six months. In response, 51% said they planned to diversify supply chains, while 58% were pursuing operational transformation to manage energy constraints and price volatility.

AI spending holds

Despite the broader uncertainty, AI spending plans remain intact. Three-quarters of C-suite leaders said they planned to increase AI investment over the next 12 months, indicating that most companies are not pulling back from the technology even as they reassess risk.

Only 18% of leaders said they believed a significant AI bubble currently existed. Even if one were to emerge, 51% said they would still increase investment, suggesting executives view AI as strategically important even under less favourable market conditions.

Yet the survey indicates a gap between investment and returns. Only 27% of leaders said their organisations had achieved widespread, sustained business value from AI. Another 21% said poor integration between AI initiatives and core business strategy was the main obstacle to realising value.

Even so, confidence remains relatively strong around newer forms of AI deployment. Some 64% of leaders said they were confident their agentic AI initiatives would produce quantifiable outcomes that could be reported to boards within the next 12 months.

Workforce effects

The findings also shed light on how executives and employees view AI's effect on work. A large majority of leaders, 89%, said AI would change the skills required of entry-level employees. At the same time, 80% said they planned to create new entry-level roles focused on working with AI.

Hiring expectations were more positive than fears of job losses might suggest. Just over half of leaders, 51%, said they planned to increase entry-level hiring as AI adoption expands, while 24% expected to reduce hiring.

Among employees, sentiment was mixed. Some 58% said they felt secure in their jobs, up 12 percentage points since January 2026. But 71% said they believed it was becoming harder for entry-level workers to find jobs because of AI, showing that confidence in personal job security does not remove broader concerns about access to the labour market.

Workers also reported direct benefits from AI tools. Nearly three-quarters, 73%, said the tools had increased their overall productivity, while 59% said their job satisfaction had improved since those tools were introduced. Still, 28% said they believed they would be expected to reskill on their own if AI disrupted their roles.

Trust and security

Employee trust in workplace AI appears closely linked to data protection. More than a third of employees, 35%, said guaranteed data security and privacy would give them more confidence to use AI tools in their daily work. That finding links internal adoption challenges to the broader cyber concerns expressed by senior leaders, especially as companies push AI deeper into routine operations.

The figures suggest Canadian organisations are moving ahead with AI investment while becoming more cautious about operational resilience, preparedness for shocks and the controls needed to keep employees confident in how the technology is used.