Legal and compliance chiefs in multinationals are increasingly held accountable for regulatory disputes and other issues that damage the reputation of the enterprise. That makes it delicate for them to answer the question corporate executives pose in budget reviews at this time of year: “Haven’t we invested enough in compliance?”
It can be a challenge to defend the swelling costs of investing in processes and people to ensure adequate compliance. Some in-house functions have improved their ability to identify areas of higher compliance risk and now target their efforts more efficiently. Others are stretched thinly trying to do more for less as they support new business initiatives. They haven’t had time to make longer term improvements in their compliance model in order to reduce costs without raising risks.
