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.
Majority of executives see significant revenue growth opportunities over next 2-3 years; cyber threats remain top concern
Nearly 70% of global executives see significant opportunities to grow revenues over the next two to three years despite economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and rapid tech disruption, according to a survey by Protiviti and NC State University’s ERM Initiative.
Protiviti and NC State surveyed more than 1,500 C-suite and board leaders worldwide and found that 62% anticipate their organizations expanding their ecosystem of strategic alliances and partnerships to enhance how they go to market. The survey reveals a decisive shift in mindset — companies aren’t dodging risk but leveraging it, with transformation, innovation and strategic partnerships topping the agenda for the next two to three years.
Cyber threats remain the top concern by a wide margin, signaling that concerns about ransomware, supply chain attacks and data breaches have moved beyond IT teams into C-suite boardroom conversations. Compared with prior year results, there are greater concerns this year over legacy IT and operational performance gaps as well as emerging tech adoption and workforce upskilling, which ranked 13th and ninth last year, respectively. Economic conditions have lessened somewhat in significance for board members and C-suite leaders, though this concern still sits in the top five.
Other key findings:
- Cybersecurity is the leading investment priority for the next two to three years, followed by business process improvement, infrastructure modernization, data privacy and customer experience.
- Nearly one-third (31%) of leaders are focused on data integrity and cybersecurity exposure tied to AI, while a similar share (31%) is actively integrating AI into operations.
- Long-term strategic priorities include customer focus and competitive edge, security and privacy, AI deployment, market resilience and talent strategy.
European AML systems show persistent ineffectiveness despite rising enforcement budgets, analysis finds
Anti-money laundering systems across Europe continue to demonstrate low effectiveness despite increased enforcement budgets, with financial intelligence units reporting extremely poor conversion rates from suspicious activity reports to meaningful investigations, according to a study examining the EU’s AML reform package.
The study was co-authored by professor Andrea Minto of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the University of Stavanger and Yaron Hazan, vice president of regulatory affairs at ThetaRay and former head of compliance at HSBC Israel. The research, funded by the ThetaRay Fellowship, examines how the EU’s AML reform package and the AI Act will reshape compliance requirements. The authors cite data showing the Financial Action Task Force reports that 97% of 120 assessed countries show only low to moderate effectiveness in preventing money laundering and terrorist financing. In Germany, only 15% of suspicious activity reports are investigated by law enforcement, with 95% of forwarded cases ending without prosecution. The Netherlands identified fewer than 3.5% of 3.5 million reports in 2024 as suspicious, while France’s Tracfin reports only approximately 5% of suspicious activity reports as actionable.
The study analyzes the intersection of the EU’s AML package, which establishes an EU-level anti-money laundering authority and harmonizes obligations across member states, with the AI Act, which classifies transaction monitoring and sanctions screening as “high-risk” uses of AI.
Other key findings:
- Europol estimates only about 2% of criminal proceeds are frozen and 1% confiscated in the EU.
- One operational risk study found rules-based detection scenarios produced reporting in just 2% of cases.
- The AI Act imposes strict requirements on transparency, human oversight, data governance and model lifecycle management for high-risk AI applications.
3 in 5 legal professionals concerned about privilege protections under proposed FCA AML reforms
Three in five legal professionals (58%) are concerned that the UK government’s proposed reforms to make the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the single professional services supervisor could affect legal professional privilege, according to a poll by VinciWorks and Compliance Office.
The poll of 204 legal professionals discussing the government’s consultation and the potential transfer of AML supervision from the Solicitors Regulation Authority to the FCA reveals a sector uncertain about how the proposed regulatory model will operate in practice. Two-fifths of respondents (43%) said it is too soon to tell how they feel about the FCA taking over AML supervision. Only about one in five respondents (21%) described themselves as positive or cautiously optimistic, while more than a quarter (28%) selected “worried” or “skeptical.”
When asked which potential impact of FCA supervision would be most significant, the largest share of respondents selected the FCA’s data and reporting requirements (29%). A further 26% identified a loss of legal-sector nuance, and 21% identified stricter enforcement or higher penalties. Cost and regulatory burden accounted for 21%.
The consultation on the reforms is open until Dec. 24.
AI adoption surges in retail but business impacts remain limited
AI is active in most core functions at nearly half of North American retail organizations, primarily for marketing, IT/digital and digital commerce, but corporate leaders may be overestimating these tools’ tangible impacts, according to a new survey by BRG.
The consulting firm surveyed leading retail executives and found that 48% of North American organizations have deployed AI across most core functions. Generative AI implementation outpaces predictive and agentic AI use, while the most desired outcomes among North American respondents include increased operational agility, cost optimization or reduction, and improved customer experience or engagement. The survey also polled corporate leaders in Europe and Asia-Pacific, who reported less AI adoption and lower confidence in their AI policies than their North American counterparts.
Only about half of North American respondents say their AI policies are comprehensive and adaptable to regulatory change. The majority of these policies do not encompass workforce impact (47%), transparency (43%), intellectual property (29%) and bias and fairness (29%).
Other key findings:
- Organizations need to embed AI into a clearly defined operating model, establish robust data governance frameworks and adopt new metrics to measure impact.
- The real return on investment from AI tools isn’t only in the capabilities added — but in what it allows organizations to stop doing.
- Poor infrastructure, data quality or operational misalignment can cause AI implementation to falter.
Nearly 60% of investors adopt AI amid regulatory fragmentation, climate pressures
Investors are turning to AI to navigate increasingly complex sustainable finance requirements, with 58% already using AI in sustainability or investment analysis or planning to adopt it within the next 12 months, according to a survey by Clarity AI, a sustainability technology company.
Clarity AI surveyed more than 120 market participants across North America, EMEA and APAC and found that the leading AI application is sustainability data collection and processing (67%), reflecting the growing volume and fragmentation of information investors must handle to meet regulatory and client expectations. However, 89% expect divergence across jurisdictions to complicate global investment strategies, while only 29% of investors say their organizations are fully prepared for 2026 sustainability disclosure requirements. These responses were collected before the SFDR 2.0 proposal was published.
Accuracy is the dominant concern for AI adoption (69%), followed by transparency and explainability (37%). Most respondents expect AI to augment analysts rather than replace them (60% vs 24%).
Other key findings:
- Extreme weather events are affecting investment decisions more than in previous years, with 55% of investors reporting floods, wildfires and heatwaves are shifting market behavior.
- Investors cite both transition risk (59%) and physical risk (50%) among top climate concerns.
- 51% anticipate increased client demand for sustainable products over the next year, while 40% expect it to stay stable.
- Nearly two-thirds of firms are adjusting sustainability communications: 43% tailor messaging by market, 23% use alternative terms and 12% limit communication altogether.
