Compliance is becoming so complex that today’s compliance professionals are concerned about how the function will protect businesses in future. That is according to new research from The Risk Advisory Group which surveyed more than 200 compliance professionals across a range of global businesses. Called The Compliance Horizon, the survey reveals that the majority (83%) of compliance professionals feel that compliance has become more complex in the past two years, with [1] larger businesses feeling this more acutely. As a result, 69% are feeling more exposed to risk than they did two years ago and only 19% – [2] even less in larger businesses – feel very confident in their team’s ability to protect the business to the level required.
Worryingly, compliance has become so elaborate that 78% of compliance professionals say that it now represents a risk in itself. Increased regulation is cited as the top challenge facing compliance departments over the next 12 months. This is followed by geopolitical events, in particular the EU referendum. It is also clear that compliance professionals are under increased pressure to safeguard their company’s reputation, with 59% saying that this best describes their role and 51% citing fear of negative exposure as the top driver for compliance in their organisation.
More people with the right knowledge of the business would make the biggest difference to compliance teams’ ability to protect the business over the next year, say 37% of compliance professionals, yet only 32% believe that new talent coming into the industry has what it takes to succeed. 16% also say that more efficient processes would improve their ability to protect the business.
Commenting on the findings, Bill Waite, Group CEO at The Risk Advisory Group says, “Our research shows that compliance professionals have an increasingly difficult job to do. There is a huge amount of change and a huge amount of legislation, and the need to keep up with it and understand its impact on business is putting compliance professionals under immense strain across all sectors. The professionals we spoke to told us that having more people with the right knowledge of the business would help alleviate the pressure – and that having more efficient processes would also make a difference. Our new LUMA due diligence portal has been developed with this in mind, to bring order and transparency to what we know is a complicated process and likely to become even more so.”
Notes
[1] 34% of compliance professionals in businesses with more than 10,000 employees said that compliance has become much more complex in the past two years
[2] 13% of compliance professionals in businesses with more than 10,000 employees are very confident in their team’s ability to protect their business to the level required
The Compliance Horizon is based on an online survey of 217 compliance professionals conducted by The Risk Advisory Group in October 2015. Respondents are from a broad cross-section of businesses in terms of size and sector and from all continents. The report is available to download here: http://news.riskadvisory.net/compliance-horizon-survey-2015
LUMA is a secure, cloud-based due diligence portal that centralises compliance data, making it quicker and easier for businesses to take informed decisions to safeguard their reputation. For more information please visit https://www.riskadvisory.net/what-we-do/luma
The Risk Advisory Group is an global risk consultancy that helps businesses grow whilst protecting their people, their assets and their brands. By providing facts, intelligence and analysis, The Risk Advisory Group helps its clients negotiate complex and uncertain environments to choose the right opportunities, in the right markets, with the right partners. The company was founded in 1997, employs 140 people and has offices in Washington DC, London, Moscow, Al Khobar, Dubai and Hong Kong. For more information please visit www.riskadvisory.net