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.
71% of execs who attend every board meeting give directors good grades
Fewer than half of executives believe boards of directors do an excellent or even good job, a survey by PwC and the Conference Board found. Only 41% of executives rated their boards’ effectiveness as excellent or good in 2025, according to the survey.
The survey took responses from 524 executives, most of whom lead companies with revenues of more than $1 billion across several industries.
The good news for boards: The 41% of happy execs was an increase from 35% in 2024, continuing an upward trajectory since 2022.
Notably, the percentage of approval increases as the frequency of interaction with boards increases. So executives who attended every board meeting reported a 71% good or excellent rating for the board, while executives who rarely interact with boards were at 17% good or excellent.
The top three reasons boards aren’t more effective:
- 47% said members serve on too many boards.
- 35% said members are too slow to react to emerging risks or opportunities.
- 34% said members don’t keep pace with digital transformation.
About half of companies are ‘very prepared’ for financial crime incidents
Legal, compliance and regulatory executives have lost confidence in their companies’ ability to handle financial crime with fewer than half saying they’re “very prepared” for incidents, according to a survey by AlixPartners.
The consulting firm’s survey solicited answers from 500 executives from financial services, technology, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing and retail, finding that 48% said they were “very prepared” to address fincrime and fraud. They’re also losing faith in their technologies’ ability to prevent such risk, with 36% saying they’re “very confident” in these technologies. That’s down from 56% in 2025.
The survey also found that 63% of executives believe corporate legal disputes will increase this year compared to last year with 47% saying those disputes will be about cybersecurity and data privacy.
Speaking of cybersecurity and data privacy, 65% named cybersecurity and 58% named data privacy as the most concerning potential risk events, significant increases from 2025. About 75% reported their organizations haven’t taken measures to address AI-powered cyberattacks.
Other key findings include:
- 80% said the fragmented AI regulatory landscape puts their organizations at risk.
- 65% said they don’t feel very prepared for new US sanctions and geopolitical and trade effects.
- 68% said they aren’t very prepared for supply chain disruptions, up from 59% in 2025.
12% of frontline managers say compliance is top of mind in a crisis
Just over 10% of frontline managers are looking to avoid compliance or policy issues when making calls under pressure, according to a survey from Dayforce. The study included almost 5,700 adult respondents who work in frontline organizations with at least 100 employees across large English-speaking countries.
The survey by the HR software provider found 12% of frontline managers said avoiding compliance or policy breaches is their top priority when they have to make decisions under pressure. At the same time, 67% of executives and managers acknowledge everyday shift-level decisions create compliance risk.
Disruptions for frontline businesses are causing inefficiencies, the survey found, with 65% reporting shift-level problems affecting performance. Of the frontline manager respondents, 42% said these issues were driving overtime.
Almost three-quarters of frontline workers said they rely on workarounds on shifts and 90% reported they had to find ways to fill open shifts themselves. And the burden is taking a toll on workers with 89% saying shift issues affect their well-being, and 71% having considered leaving their job as a result.
90% of UK banking customers would drop institution over AML failures
Almost 90% of UK customers said they would abandon their bank over failures to prevent money laundering or terrorist financing, a survey by ThetaRay found.
The fintech company interviewed 1,023 UK-based respondents, concluding that 88% would drop their bank if such financial malfeasance was discovered, while 87% would discourage others from banking with institutions involved in such activities.
About 80% of UK consumers rank AML effectiveness as a top priority when selecting a new provider. But those numbers are mirrored in UK bank customers’ faith, with 88% saying they trust their banks.
About 70% of respondents said speed and clarity of digital onboarding directly dictates whether they complete an application or abandon the process entirely. However, the report also revealed that 96% demand “clear explanations” of onboarding requirements and security-related delay.
