This study aims to identify how uncertainty and insecurity in the post-2008 period have reshaped risk management in the university systems. The study scrutinises internal control in the contexts of the English university system and the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It utilises the concept of 'risk' by exploring 'risk society' theses. The paper argues that uncertainty, anxiety and distrust following the 2008 financial crisis did not reshape the risk management mechanisms in England and the SUNY system. The adaptive reactions of these university systems against the crisis were immediate responses to fiscal shortage, rather than reforming of their internal control mechanisms. This suggests that the uncertain environment may thrust the universities into a reflexive mode; however, it is not necessary to bring about substantial structural changes.