Over half of business enterprises feel unprepared to deal with regulatory compliance risk and 69 per cent of companies surveyed worried that current practices would not meet future needs. It found that 29 per cent of respondents reported being least prepared to deal with anti-money laundering risk, 17 per cent were unprepared for tax risk whilst 15 per cent were not confident about dealing with sanctions/export controls and a similar number, 15 per cent, unprepared for anti-corruption/bribery risk. 

Comprehensive risk management

 'Sophisticated enterprises encounter an ever-increasing and constantly changing spectrum of risks as they expand lines of business, enter new geographic markets and grow by acquisitions, said David Chapin, managing partner of law firm Ropes & Gray, which produced the report. The report said that comprehensive risk management had never been so important, particularly in large organisations, where complex reporting structures, global jurisdictions, and shareholder bases demand accountability. Other findings revealed that 28 per cent found China to be the riskiest market overall whilst 13 per cent identified the UK as the riskiest, reflecting political and economic uncertainties stemming from Brexit. The report concluded that risk did not fit the 'one size fits all' model but instead varying states of legal and regulatory readiness.The research surveyed 300 senior-level executives at corporations across many industries, including banking, asset management, private equity, life sciences, health care and technology, to study risk management trends and practices.