The role of risk and compliance within organisations is continuing to develop and grow as it becomes a more established and formalised function, according to a new report.
To provide insight into the developments around risk and compliance management in recent years, research was conducted by Thomson Reuters in conjunction with professional services research agency, Acritas, to produce a new report: Trends in UK Risk & Compliance.
According to the research, there has been a “step-change” in risk and compliance on the corporate agenda in recent years, and it is no longer approached in a “reactive manner, nor viewed as a box ticking exercise”, but is instead growing in “sophistication, profile and resource” as a business function.
Over three quarters (81 percent) of the research’s survey respondents—which included risk and compliance or legal professionals—indicate that they have a dedicated risk and compliance function in place to measure and assess the organisation’s risk appetite.
Whilst the motivations behind having robust systems established vary amongst organisations, there is a general desire to drive consistency across the corporate entity, clarify the specific responsibilities and ensure there is a coordinated approach to managing risk and compliance.
The research also found that cyber/information security, data protection and money laundering were considered the most importance risks amongst the respondents, while political and regulatory factors were also deemed to be potential threats.
The report indicates: “The sophistication of risk and compliance teams is developing to enable them to help their corporate entities navigate an increasingly complex risk landscape. Brexit, GDPR and growing cyber security concerns are just a handful of the currents threats, and the indications we have seen of a growth in resources in turn—both in terms of budget and headcount—show no sign of dropping off”.
To read the full report, Trends in UK Risk & Compliance, click here.
