Compliance still not a priority: Control Risks

Companies across the world are not backing up their rhetoric on compliance with the appropriate level of resources and prioritisation, says a research report from Control Risks.

The annual report of international business attitudes to compliance risk is based on a survey of senior executives responsible for compliance at 1,000 companies worldwide. The research reviewed a broad range of global compliance issues, from anti-corruption, to anti-money-laundering, anti-trust, privacy and data protection.

Control Risks’ research shows that large companies (those with more than 10,000 staff) are still not putting enough resources into compliance. A quarter of these companies surveyed (26 percent) reported that they invest less than USD25 per person a year on compliance. Similarly, 28 percent of large companies have compliance teams of just five people or less.

The extent to which compliance functions are stretched contrasts with the increasingly aggressive and joined-up activity of enforcement agencies across the world and the punitive fines imposed on companies for non-compliance.

Richard Fenning, CEO, Control Risks, said: “Companies are in danger of putting themselves at risk by failing to prioritise and integrate compliance within their businesses. Whilst the necessary investment will vary widely between organisations, many companies are woefully under-resourced to deal with the increasingly complex, constantly evolving and often contradictory regulatory environment. It’s time for companies to put their money where their mouth is.