Businesses should strive to adopt a culture of flexibility or risk difficulties in the future, according to PwC.

In a recent report, entitled  ‘Prospering in an era of uncertainty - the case for resilience’ , the professional services firm found that companies could be set to face an “investor backlash” if they do not prepare for potential problems caused by the uncertain financial climate.

PwC are now encouraging businesses to take precautionary measures and adopt a radical new attitude, rather than waiting for issues to arise before taking action.

Mark Caddick - PwC business continuity leader outlined his concerns that the current economic climate had resulted in the creation of new forms of risk, which are  "contagious rather than containable”.

He said: “Embracing the concept of resilience allows boards and executives to bring the benefits of risk thinking to exploit opportunities and also manage risks.”

Resilience is especially important for the manufacturing and financial services sectors, who could be him by supply chain disruptions across their operations.