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.
Survey: Off-channel comms surpass marketing rule as top concern for investment advisers
Investment advisers’ concerns of off-channel communications has eclipsed the SEC’s marketing rule as the top compliance concern, according to the 2024 Investment Management Compliance Testing Survey.
Electronic communications surveillance/off-channel communications was identified by 59% of survey respondents as the hottest compliance topic. Advertising/marketing followed closely by 57% of respondents and AI/predictive analytics debuted in third place, with 46% of respondents including this on their list of hot topics. Other hot topics generally aligned with the SEC’s exam, enforcement and rulemaking priorities.
The 2024 survey, conducted online throughout May, covered a wide range of topics and offered extensive insight into common control strategies. In addition to the top compliance hot topics, the survey provided notable findings on subjects such as:
- The industry is focused on SEC exams, with 83% of respondents reporting that they are undergoing an exam or have been examined in the past five years. The top examiner focus areas on recent SEC exams were reported as: books and records (58%), advertising and marketing (57%) and conflicts of interest (50%).
- Investment advisers are enhancing their compliance programs, with 65% having conducted or intending to conduct a mock SEC exam, for example, as well as increased testing. A significant portion of respondents (85%) reported that a mock exam prepared them for an actual SEC exam and identified issues and best practice enhancements.
Survey: Accountant shortage straining finance functions
A new survey from global consulting firm RGP explores the impact that the accountant shortage has had on corporate finance departments and how organizations are choosing to spend their money. A few key findings:
- 43% of respondents said their organization is investing more in end-to-end automated accounting processes and AI tools due to the ongoing accountant shortage.
- 31% of professionals surveyed said their organization is using more consulting talent to transform their finance function and 27% said they are using more interim staffing solutions due to the ongoing accountant shortage.
- 45% of respondents also said their organization would benefit from additional resources and tools to better leverage fractional work arrangements (e.g., part-time, freelance, gig work).
The findings are from a June poll conducted by YouGov on behalf of RGP of 213 U.S full-time professionals at the director level or above who influence finance decision-making within their organizations.
Report: Cloud-native app security market to triply by 2028
New research from Dell’Oro Group projects massive growth in the cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) market, rising from $2 billion in 2024 to $8 billion by 2028 as enterprises play catch-up on cloud security.
CNAPP solutions provide comprehensive features that span the application lifecycle of development, deployment and runtime.
“The rapid expansion of the CNAPP market underscores the critical need for robust security solutions as enterprises accelerate their cloud adoption,” said Mauricio Sanchez, senior director of enterprise security and networking at Dell’Oro Group. “It’s clear enterprises are recognizing the value of CNAPP solutions, and we see significant opportunities for vendors to innovate and capture market share.”
The findings were released in the organization’s most recent market research reports.
