Why Executives Are Increasing Spend on Risk Advisory Services

Executives in Saudi Arabia are reallocating budgets to strengthen enterprise resilience and to capture new growth safely. One reason is the rise in complex threats that cross financial, cyber, regulatory and operational boundaries. Boards are asking for clearer lines between strategy and controllable risk, and many Chief Financial Officers are bringing in a financial risk consultant to translate exposure into actionable capital plans. The trend is especially visible in large corporates and public sector entities that are implementing Vision 2030 projects and upgrading governance frameworks.

The macro picture driving greater spend

Saudi Arabia’s economic outlook for 2025 is supportive of disciplined investment in risk capability. International institutions project solid growth in real GDP for the Kingdom in 2025 while non oil sectors expand, which raises the opportunity cost of major operational failures and regulatory breaches. Executives see that a small percent reduction in loss events can preserve large amounts of value as the economy grows. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank projections for Saudi growth in 2025 reinforce the incentive for companies to invest in robust risk frameworks today.

Beyond macro growth, investors and regulators are increasing scrutiny. New regulations on data protection and financial reporting create higher compliance costs for companies that are under prepared. At the same time, large capital projects and foreign direct investment flows mean more third party complexity and supply chain risk. For these reasons, boards are treating risk advisory spend as an investment in de-risking the business model rather than as a compliance cost alone.

Cybersecurity and governance are top line items

A leading driver of advisory spend has been cybersecurity and governance risk control. The Saudi cybersecurity market expanded rapidly in recent years and by 2024 the sector had already added billions to the economy. Firms in the Kingdom are allocating significant budgets to products and services that protect revenue generating systems and customer data. That shift fuels demand for specialized advisory services that combine technical, legal and enterprise risk perspectives.

Governance risk and compliance platforms are another measurable area of investment. Analysts estimated that the governance, risk and compliance platform market in Saudi Arabia reached nearly five hundred million US dollars in 2025. Executives are buying advisory to select, implement and integrate those platforms with internal processes because adoption errors can create duplication, audit gaps and lost productivity.

Specialized advisory beats general consulting for current needs

Companies in KSA are moving from broad strategic engagements to specialist interventions that deliver measurable risk reduction. Instead of long strategic studies, boards now prefer time bound advisory on areas such as third party risk, scenario modelling, crisis response and cyber maturity improvement. That is why demand for experienced financial risk consultant talent and boutique teams with local market experience has climbed. In many cases the expected return on advisory fees is quantified as avoided losses or lower capital charges.

What executives are buying and why it pays off

Executives are prioritizing four practical advisory services that show quick, auditable impact

1. Risk quantification and scenario modelling that convert exposures into probable loss distributions and capital implications.
2. Cybersecurity maturity assessments and response playbooks that reduce expected downtime and reputational losses.
3. Governance risk and compliance platform implementation that creates single sources of truth for audit and control reporting.
4. Third party and supply chain risk programs that reduce delivery failure rates on strategic projects.

Those services are often structured with clear deliverables and metrics such as time to detect, time to contain, percentage reduction in loss expectancy and audit clean findings. When linked to corporate key performance indicators, advisory spend becomes easier for procurement and finance committees to approve.

Evidence from surveys and market sizing

Market reports indicate a measurable expansion in the Kingdom’s consulting and risk markets. The Saudi management consulting market was estimated at nearly four billion US dollars in 2025 driven by Vision 2030 related projects and an increase in specialized advisory mandates. At the same time the governance risk and compliance platform market reached roughly four hundred ninety three million US dollars in 2025. Separately the cybersecurity market numbers show product and service spend in the multiple billions of Saudi riyals range, underlining the scale of security related advisory work required. These figures explain why both public and private sector clients are increasing their risk advisory budgets.

Measurable outcomes that justify the spend

Boards demand measurable outcomes. Risk advisory engagements in KSA are now frequently scoped to deliver:

• Reduced expected loss given a scenario expressed in SAR or US dollars.
• Faster incident response measured in hours saved.
• Compliance improvement leading to fewer regulatory penalties and lower capital buffers.
• Higher investor confidence indexed to lower volatility in earnings.

When advisory projects provide such quantified benefits, the business case for sustained spend becomes compelling. In one common approach, advisory teams estimate avoided losses over a three year horizon and compare that to the total advisory fee to show payback in a short time frame.

Local context matters: governance, regulation and culture

Saudi organisations operate in a regulatory environment that has modernized rapidly. Data protection rules and sector specific directives from regulators such as the Saudi Central Bank and other authorities raise the cost of non compliance. At the same time, the Kingdom’s public and private entities are implementing large scale digital transformations that expand the attack surface and increase interdependence across vendors. Executives prefer working with advisors who understand the nexus of regulation, local procurement rules and the socio economic priorities of Vision 2030. That preference boosts demand for local and regional advisory experts as well as international firms that partner with local teams.

Practical steps executives are taking

Successful leaders combine internal capability with external expertise. Typical practical moves include:

1. Building a central risk office that works with external advisors to operationalize enterprise risk.
2. Prioritizing quick wins in cyber and third party risk to protect revenue streams.
3. Running tabletop exercises to improve board level incident decision making.
4. Procuring governance risk and compliance platforms and commissioning advisory to integrate those platforms into business workflows.

These steps reduce dependency on ad hoc responses and institutionalize the risk intelligence that makes future decisions faster and more precise.

Talent and sourcing trends

A constrained market for experienced risk professionals makes advisory an attractive option. Hiring senior talent can be costly and slow while advisory teams can be deployed rapidly with deep subject matter knowledge. That is why many organisations in KSA engage advisers to fill capability gaps while they develop internal talent pipelines through targeted upskilling and knowledge transfer programs.

Second order benefits for strategy and growth

Risk advisory spend is not only defensive. When risk frameworks are mature, companies are better able to pursue new lines of business, enter foreign markets and negotiate large contracts with stronger tail risk management. Boards increasingly view structured risk investment as a way to unlock opportunities without accepting uncontrolled exposure.

Conclusion and implications for KSA executives

Executives in the Kingdom are increasing spend on risk advisory services because the combination of economic growth, regulatory modernization and rising cyber and supply chain complexity creates a clear value proposition for preventing loss and enabling growth. Measured investments in advisory deliver quantifiable outcomes such as avoided losses, improved time to detect incidents and compliance improvements that protect capital and reputation. For organisations pursuing Vision 2030 ambitions, a targeted advisory program is becoming a strategic enabler rather than a discretionary expense.

Call to action

If your organisation in Saudi Arabia wants to convert risk into a strategic advantage, consider engaging an Insights consultancy to benchmark current exposure, quantify probable impact and build a prioritized implementation plan that aligns to your strategic objectives. For a short pilot that proves value quickly contact our insight advisory team for a focused assessment and roadmap.