Compliance teams will face a range of ongoing challenges in the coming year, as well as greater demands from boards and management for better, wider, and more real-time assurance on an increasing range of risk topics, particularly around emerging technologies. 

Experts believe that in 2026, the compliance function will be judged not by whether it has policies in place, but more by whether it can demonstrate its expertise and effectiveness across fast-moving risks such as AI-enabled decision-making, third-party/supply chain exposure, and sustainability disclosures that are increasingly treated like financial statements.

Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal...