One in four said they had dropped an innovation because of regulation whilst the same number said that regulation was adversely affecting their ability to raise capital, which could secure investment for innovations. Over half of US respondents (54 per cent) said financial regulation was ‘a serious barrier to economic growth.’ Meanwhile 40 per cent of those surveyed believed regulation cost their companies between five and ten per cent of turnover. "The importance of innovation and informed leadership was a key theme throughout the research and many executives felt that despite innovation being critical to company growth - almost a third believed regulation had made it harder to achieve," the report stated.The research also found that there they do innovate, over half of companies in Europe saw regulations as slowing down their efforts compared to around a third in the US and one in four in Asia. The US scored higher than any other country for being perceived as having regulation which is a deterrent to international business moving into it. The US also spends more than European companies on regulatory compliance than their European counterparts and US companies are more engaged in the regulatory process itself.

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