From economic volatility to the war in Ukraine, 2023 will be a complex year for compliance professionals. Our report combines a state-of-the-industry survey with the latest subject matter expertise to offer a roadmap for the year ahead.
Of firms say they’re re-evaluating their risk appetite due to the uncertain economic environment
Financial crime is set to soar as economies falter. 59 percent of firms expect crime levels to rise, with 58 percent planning to hire more staff. A faltering economy could increase levels of risk-taking behavior. Fraud and scams continue to evolve. Tax and investment fraud are top concerns for compliance teams, with the temptation for criminals to offer bogus “get rich quick” schemes rising as the economy worsens.
Environmental crime surges. Environmental crime was the second highest typology of concern for firms when submitting suspicious activity reports (SARs).
Crowdfunding fuels political extremism. 87 percent of compliance teams told us they’d seen an increase in the use of crowdfunding platforms to support political extremism over the last 12 months. Our report analyzes the topics compliance teams will encounter in 2023 and how they can prepare effectively.
How will the war in Ukraine impact global sanctions in 2023?
Unsurprisingly, Russia is the geopolitical hotspot firms worldwide are most concerned about. We expect a stalemate well into 2023. As a result, compliance teams should expect new sectoral sanctions from Western powers and a greater emphasis on enforcement. While the overall number of designations will rise, sanctions may be scaled back in some areas. We explore the road ahead and other potential sanctions inflection points.
48%-stat-Wide Of firms say their knowledge of regulations would be ‘at risk’ in an audit of the compliance function
Prepare for new anti-money laundering regulations
In the United States, the Biden administration will continue tackling illicit financial flows and building a crypto regulatory framework. Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing to roll out its most comprehensive anti-money laundering regulatory package ever. In Asia Pacific, Hong Kong is implementing a virtual asset licensing regime, Australia faces pressure to regulate non-financial professions, including lawyers and real estate agents, and Singapore plans a new Corporate Service Providers Bill. Our report assesses the landscape in 2023 to help firms anticipate potential reforms.
Firms are rethinking their approach to regulatory technology
How can firms effectively manage customer data, meet increasing regulatory expectations, and combat competitive pressures? There is a growing recognition of the need to ‘get the fundamentals right.’ For the compliance function, this means how their data and teams are structured. 39 percent of firms said digitally transforming legacy systems was their most significant compliance-related pain point, six percentage points higher than two years ago. From data transformation to AI and ESG, we explore the wider trends shaping the compliance function today.
Spotlight on Financial Crime
Explore the trends shaping today’s financial landscape and their implications for the year ahead.
Geopolitics and Sanctions
2022 was a year defined and shaped by sanctions on an unprecedented scale. Look at the prospects for the year ahead.
Regional Regulatory Trends
Uncover the evolving anti-money laundering regulatory landscape, examining global trends and key themes in major economies.
Industry Trends
From use cases for AI in financial crime risk detection to supply chain risk, review seven emerging AML trends.
April 13, 2023 Published by The Comply Advantage. (Download PDF Report)
