Q&A with Isabella Agius, client compliance head at Apex Group: AML keeps EU fund managers awake
Anti-money-laundering rules are the chief compliance concern for fund managers – and other sectors should take note – according to Isabella Agius, product head, corporate solutions, in the client compliance and regulatory services at Apex Group.
How to responsibly roll out AI in compliance, from a former Google exec
Compliance officers across the economy are being told to adopt AI - to save costs, increase and expand compliance coverage through more real-time and contextualized information, navigate the ever-changing regulatory landscape, and leverage more analytical firepower to make better decisions.
Rethinking war risk in an era of persistent conflict
For many organizations, “war risk” still sounds like a niche concern, something reserved for defense contractors, energy companies, or humanitarian organizations operating near active conflict. Over the past several years, that assumption has quietly eroded, particularly for the insurance industry.
When AI acts: The compliance challenge of agentic systems
Artificial intelligence is no longer limited to generating insights or supporting analysis. With every passing day, AI systems are being designed to initiate actions, trigger workflows, and influence outcomes with minimal human intervention.
Tips for creating and implementing a global gifts and hospitality policy
Across the globe, gift giving and wining and dining play a role in building business relationships. But be it a tin of cookies, coveted concert tickets, or a gourmet meal, employees should understand what types of gifts and hospitality are acceptable to avoid exposing their company to risk.
Experts urge stronger compliance involvement to mitigate AI liability
Companies look set to increase their spend on AI technologies during 2026, but not every investment is likely to pay off. In fact, most appear to offer little return quickly.
What to know about double materiality assessments for ESG initiatives
Double materiality assessments help organizations identify and prioritise ESG topics that matter most, both in terms of their impact on society and the environment, and their financial implications for the business.
Start considering contracts as part of your compliance infrastructure
For many compliance teams, 2025 marked an inflection point: A familiar problem in an unfamiliar form, significant regulatory exposure without settled rules, benchmarks, or enforcement patterns.
Cybersecurity terms in third-party contracts: Are you being served, or served up?
Governance failures embedded in standard agreements are amplifying organizations’ exposure to cyber incidents by failing to account for modern supply-chain realities, where third- and fourth-party vendors, cloud platforms, subcontractors create a cascading risk far beyond the contracting entity.
Beyond the paper shield: Noting differences between U.S. and Brazilian anti-corruption law
The difference between U.S. and Brazilian anti-corruption laws lies in the logic of their enforcement, writes Gustavo Aguiar, a Brazilian attorney whose practice specializes in public procurement, compliance, and land regulation.
Q&A with Norm Ashkenas, CCO at Robinhood, on compliance challenges, opportunities and being a strategic adviser
Chief among Norm Ashkenas’ priorities is positioning compliance as a strategic adviser, supporting those leading this global expansion in a complex financial services world. He stresses that compliance puts a huge effort into ensuring that it is not seen as a back-office function.
The hidden compliance costs behind failed AI deployments
Companies look set to increase their spend on AI technologies during 2026, but not every investment is likely to pay off. In fact, most appear to offer little return quickly.
Five questions business leaders should be asking in 2026 to manage transformation risk
Working with clients in various sectors over the past year, one thing is clear: Transformation is bigger, faster, and more interconnected. Tech, talent, regulation, and operations—it’s hitting at once.
When AI Is Forced on Compliance: The ECCP as your Guide
When a company rapidly adopts AI, compliance officers can be blindsided, tasked with governance almost immediately. Luckily, there is a guide from the U.S. Department of Justice to help.
Ethics as strategic value: When compliance becomes a board-level decision tool
For many Boards of Directors, compliance reporting feels familiar and reassuring. Dashboards are green. Policies are updated. Training is complete. Incidents are investigated and closed. On paper, the system works.
Safely leveraging generative AI: A practical guide for compliance leaders
Generative AI (GenAI) has moved rapidly from experimentation into day-to-day use across many organizations. Over the past year, teams have shifted from exploratory pilots to relying on these tools for core activities such as contract analysis, research, and software development.
The illusion of control: How shrinking teams and AI are redefining cyber risk
Over recent years, cybersecurity executives have been tasked with an almost impossible Challenge: reduce headcount, accelerate transformation, integrate artificial intelligence, meet regulatory obligations, and still maintain resilience.
Best practices for responding to government investigations
In the current business environment, companies must have a documented plan for responding to government investigations. Shifts in tariffs, dynamic export controls, and a potentially less strict enforcement environment around international bribery all increase the risk that an employee or representative could violate the law – inadvertently or intentionally.
Why “just do the work” fails in regulated organizations
Most organizational failures are not failures of effort, discipline, or follow-through. They are interpretation failures misdiagnosed as execution problems.
Creating effective compliance messages for specific employee groups
As 2026 arrives, have you considered the efficacy of your compliance messaging efforts? We have all seen these compliance taglines “Speak Up!,” “See Something, Say Something,” “Ethics Matter!”
Teaching the business to speak risk
Compliance professionals understand the value of risk assessments. We conduct them annually, map risks to controls, and present heat maps to the board. But there is a strategic opportunity that many compliance programs overlook: Teaching the business itself to think in the language of risk.
SOX was built for humans. AI doesn’t fit that model.
For more than two decades, assurance and compliance frameworks have rested on a simple assumption: Material decisions are made by people. Post‑Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) assurance reset worked because it aligned accountability with human behavior. That assumption shapes how internal controls are designed, how accountability is assigned, and how assurance is ...
Managing the permanent tension between compliance and business delivery
Business delivery runs on market deadlines. Compliance runs on regulatory mandates.
Six AI questions compliance officers must answer in 2026
As artificial intelligence reshapes business, compliance teams face new questions about risk and oversight. These are the key issues compliance professionals should be asking as they evaluate their programs heading into 2026.
How banks are responsibly embedding machine learning and GenAI into AML surveillance
As financial crime grows in scale, speed, and sophistication, banks are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence, machine learning, and generative AI to strengthen anti-money laundering and surveillance programs.
Congress is about to regulate crypto. Criminals are ready.
Congress is moving toward rules for cryptocurrency. That’s overdue. For years, crypto markets have grown faster than the laws meant to ensure they aren’t exploited by criminals.
Experts outline core skills compliance teams need to develop in 2026
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.
From NATO to nature crime. A practitioner’s perspective on greenwashing
From NATO and the UN to wildlife crime and finance, Chris Jagger explains why banks need smarter, more agile compliance to stay ahead of criminals.
Bribery exposure doesn’t start with policy failure. It starts with training.
Anti-bribery and corruption failures in financial institutions rarely stem from bad policies.
Building resilient teams in cyberdefense
The stress on cyberdefense teams can be accurately described as a form of chronic occupational trauma stemming from several unique pressures. But there are ways to build a culture that combats these pressures.
The invisible cost of digital defense on mental health
Cybersecurity professionals, particularly those in leadership roles, often face immense pressure and stress due to the constant threat of cyberattacks.
FINRA’s GenAI wake-up call: What compliance professionals must do now
FINRA’s rules are intended to be technologically neutral. They apply when companies use GenAI or similar technologies in their businesses, just as they apply when companies use any other technology or tool. But what does that mean for a compliance professional using GenAI?
How to identify and mitigate risks posed by Foreign Terrorist Organizations
Since Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 2025, the Trump Administration has made it a priority to expand the list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
What the Copilot Usage Report 2025 Means for Corporate Compliance
Microsoft’s Copilot Usage Report 2025 offers compliance professionals a rare, data-driven look at how artificial intelligence is actually being used by millions of people, rather than how organizations assume it is being used.
Emerging antitrust risks in the expanded use of AI
Concerns over competitors using AI pricing tools to fix prices have dominated antitrust discussions in the U.S. and EU. Recent cases show how algorithmic pricing might enable unlawful coordination.
How to make the business case to upgrade records management systems
Companies are giving their records management programs a makeover, and not for the reasons you may think. What used to be a sleepy back-office legal department function is now front and center, often driven by compliance teams.
Why the EU’s new Machinery Regulation is a wake-up call on cybersecurity
The European manufacturing industry is on the cusp of a regulatory shift that promises to reshape how machines are designed and operated.
The AI audit burden: Why ‘Explainable AI’ is the key
AI decisions are only defensible when the reasoning behind them is visible, traceable, and auditable. Explainable AI delivers that visibility, turning black-box outputs into documented logic that compliance officers can stand behind when regulators, auditors, or stakeholders demand answers.
Turning compliance into a competitive advantage in defense tech
For emerging defense tech companies to take full advantage of acquisition reforms and increased funding, they will need to overcome a defining feature of the U.S. defense industry: It is highly regulated, and will likely remain so.
The rise of the AI compliance officer
As AI reshapes business operations and regulators move quickly, companies increasingly need a dedicated AI compliance officer to ensure ethical, transparent, and accountable deployment.
Who is leading the fight against confidence scams, and who should?
Internet-enabled scams are drawing national attention, with authorities treating them as organized transnational crimes. The FBI says confidence schemes now make up a significant share of online fraud, prompting questions about how the private sector is responding.
When stability fails: Why over-optimization creates organizational brittleness
Most organizations would say they value stability. Predictable operations, consistent output, and well-defined processes are generally considered marks of maturity. The assumption is simple: if a system can be made reliable, it becomes resilient.
Agentic AI and the policy blind spot: Why security can’t wait
The current AI policy and regulation landscape is still emerging globally. While some regulations and standards exist, governments, industry, and security leaders have critical gaps to close, especially around agentic artificial intelligence.
Complying with the EU Data Act – What companies should know
Companies could face significant compliance challenges in trying to meet new EU legal requirements about how companies share data with third parties.
The CFO, AI, and the New Compliance Frontier
As CFOs use AI to streamline operations, they face new compliance risks tied to accountability and algorithmic governance. CCOs must work with them to ensure transparency and oversight throughout adoption.
The Compliance - Audit gap in ESG and financial reporting
ESG reporting has moved from a voluntary PR exercise to an expectation for regulators and investors, but the compliance audit gap now threatens credibility.
How to promote a positive compliance culture – and why behavior matters.
No matter what compliance managers do, people continue to disregard rules. Sandro Boeri, president of the U.K.’s Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, says a new mandatory standard for internal audit teams can help.
Beyond the Binder: Policy governance in practice
Most compliance professionals have faced it: a regulator or client requests a policy, and several slightly different “final” versions appear. The issue often stems from reactive, siloed work without a unified governance framework.
What compliance can learn from a 95 percent AI pilot failure rate
Compliance professionals have long known that systems fail when governance does. An MIT study’s finding that 95 percent of enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) pilots fail underscores how essential compliance-grade discipline is to the success of emerging technologies.
Risk-Based AML only works if the C-suite agrees what ‘risk’ means
Banks emphasize risk-based compliance in their AML programs, citing it to regulators and embedding it in policy, yet many institutions still handle risk very differently in practice.