TheCorporateCounsel.net

It appears companies really thought through their risk factors for recently filed Form 10-Ks. This Bloomberg Law article says that a number of companies updated their 10-Ks to describe new and novel risks in our current environment, such as:

1. Diversity Programs – including criticism, legal threats and investigations, etc.

2. Immigration Enforcement – creating an increase in supplier costs, especially in the food industry

3. Tariff Threats – the 10-Ks typically discussed rising costs, supply chain impacts, impact on packaging materials, but as I discussed in today’s first blog, you may need to take another look for the 10-Q

4. Executive/Office Safety – some companies expressed that they may be more likely than others to be a target of an attack or disruption

5. Egg Prices – supply chain issues and shifting consumer impact

6. Wildfires and Extreme Weather Events – negative impact on facilities and employees

I can’t say that all of these are 100% brand new. It’s possible that some of these risks had previously been combined with other topics, but they now rise to the level of requiring their very own paragraph(s). Or, maybe this is the first year that a critical mass of companies have discussed them. Bloomberg’s analysis found that companies typically used the “general risk factors” section to describe these new threats.

– Liz Dunshee