CCI staff share recent surveys, reports and analysis on risk, compliance, governance, infosec and leadership issues. Share details of your survey with us: editor@corporatecomplianceinsights.com.
52% of GCs point to war as increasing part of risk picture for corporates
Geopolitical conflict is troubling more than half of general counsels, who increasingly see global fighting as part of enterprises’ interconnected risk landscape, according to a survey by the Diligent Institute.
The Diligent Institute’s survey of nearly 150 senior legal leaders found more than 52% of GCs said conflicts across the world are increasing risk. In other findings on what is complicating the risk landscape:
- 48% said regulatory changes
- 39% said AI-related risks
- 39% said cyber threats
- 33% said supply chain disruptions
An increasingly complex risk landscape is pulling GCs deeper into oversight with 67% saying they’re spending more time on enterprise-wide risk and compliance than a year ago on top of traditional legal duties. Nearly half of enterprise legal leaders devote up to 40% of their workload to enterprise-wide risk and compliance, while another quarter spend up to 60% of their time on these responsibilities, the report indicated.
The survey also said GCs have “low confidence” in board risk reporting with 79% of GCs lacking confidence that board reporting strikes the right balance between clarity and overload.
Wage growth slows for in-house counsel
Raises for in-house counsel are slowing down, according to a report by executive search firm BarkerGilmore. The median salary increase over the past year for general counsel and managing and senior counsel was 3.2%, down from 4.4% the previous year, according to the report.
Lawyers are also less likely to jump ship, the report found. In 2026, 64% of in-house lawyers said their job search motivations were low or very low. The previous year, 40% said they were not considering a job change.
“This reflects heightened competition for top and passive candidates,” the report said.
The report also indicates an increasing gender pay disparity. The pay gap between men and women increased from 5.4% in 2025 to 7.4% in 2026; men reported median total compensation of $503,275 compared to $467,587 for women, according to the survey.
BarkerGilmore surveyed more than 2,879 in-house attorneys from different sized public and private organizations in the US.
Boards & execs say ethics matter, but only 35% say culture & leadership are on board agenda
More than half of board directors say culture and leadership are top ethical risks, but in just 35% of organizations are those areas on boards’ immediate agendas, according to a survey report from Boards of the Future, a nonprofit dedicated to the inclusion of ethics, compliance and risk leaders on corporate boards.
The organization’s inaugural “Boards Ethical Readiness Index (BERI)” report, which included surveys and interviews with more than 300 directors and senior leaders in compliance, risk, audit, HR and legal across regions and sectors, indicated that 77% of executives and 58% of directors named culture and ethics as top risks.
The report also found that executives and board directors are split on whether dissenting views are welcomed: 59% of directors agreed or strongly agreed it was, but only 23% of executives said the same. The report also found that 83% of boards had not changed or delayed a major decision due to an ethical concern in the past two years and only 56% of board members had received training in ethical decision-making over the past 24 months.
Healthcare providers tighten device security
Healthcare systems have become stricter on cybersecurity measures for devices amid increasing attacks, according to a survey by RunSafe Security.
Among healthcare professionals involved in purchasing devices in 2026, 84% said their organizations now include cybersecurity requirements in vendor RFPs, with 43% requiring detailed specifications, the survey found. That’s up from 38% in 2025. Nearly 56% of purchasers have rejected a device because of cybersecurity concerns, up from 46% the previous year.
The survey also found that 24% of facilities experienced a cyberattack on a medical device, an increase of 2% from 2025. About 80% of those attacked report moderate or significant patient care impact, up from 75% the previous year.
Other key findings include:
- 81% rate a software bill of materials as “important” or “essential” and 35% won’t consider a device without one
- 28% of organizations operate devices past end-of-support; 44% acknowledge running end-of-support devices with known, unpatched vulnerabilities
- 57% currently use AI-enabled or AI-assisted medical devices, with 80% expressing at least moderate concern about the cybersecurity risks they introduce
RunSafe Security surveyed 551 healthcare professionals across the US, UK and Germany.
