Safeguarding integrity: ethics and compliance in global business

March 2026  |  FEATURE | RISK MANAGEMENT

Financier Worldwide Magazine

March 2026 Issue

A world without ethics is a world without control. As global volatility continues inexorably – from economic uncertainty to geopolitical tensions – organisations are placing renewed emphasis on ethics and compliance (E&C) to safeguard their integrity and resilience.

No longer viewed solely as a legal safeguard but increasingly recognised as a strategic asset, an E&C programme enables organisations to anticipate a wide range of operational risk factors – including human error, fraud, IT failures, supply chain disruptions, cyber attacks, natural disasters and regulatory changes – and respond effectively.

The core elements of such a programme, including leadership commitment, robust training, third party due diligence and ongoing monitoring, help build organisational E&C maturity and reinforce the discipline’s indispensability to sustainable growth and corporate trust in volatile times.

“The importance of strong E&C cultures is greater than ever,” concurs Shannon Rainey, a senior managing director at K2 Integrity. “A healthy, resilient culture serves as an early safeguard, limiting the need for reactive investigations. It builds trust, supports speaking out and reinforces that compliance is a collective responsibility, not just a procedural requirement.

“Periods of economic instability challenge the durability of an organisation’s ethical foundations,” she continues. “When teams face pressure to meet financial targets in unpredictable markets, cope with supply chain issues or navigate intricate regulatory landscapes, the temptation to bend the rules can increase. Without firmly embedded values, employees may justify improper behaviour as necessary for getting through tough times.”

The importance of an effective E&C programme is illustrated by Ethisphere’s 2025 Ethics Premium, which found that the ‘World’s Most Ethical Companies’ consistently outperform their peers, demonstrating a clear link between ethical behaviour and financial performance.

According to Ethisphere, this outperformance results from the practices that underpin ethical recognition, including investments in people, culture and communities. From January 2020 to January 2025 the ‘ethics premium’ was 7.8 percent, providing evidence of a tangible return on investment for ethical conduct.

“It is imperative for organisations to prioritise the establishment and sustainment of a strong ethical culture, enterprise wide,” observes Pat Harned, chief executive of the Ethics and Compliance Initiative. “Through the culture of an organisation, employees learn what behaviours are acceptable.

“Culture is also the biggest influence on employees’ decisions to report suspected wrongdoing,” she continues. “A strong ethical culture helps to foster an organisational commitment to civility, productivity and resilience – all of which are needed for a business to succeed.”

Embedding E&C

An effective E&C programme brings together a broad range of aims and requirements, with policies and processes designed to secure leadership support and embed a strong ethical culture.

“Compliance, ethical and regulatory driven, can be a business opportunity enabler, helping commercial teams navigate complexity confidently rather than a brake on activity,” states Cindy van Niekerk, chief executive of Umazi. “When employees see ethics as ‘how we win’ rather than ‘what legal requires’, an organisation has built something durable.”

In its 2025 ‘7 Elements of an Effective Ethics & Compliance Program’ analysis, Ethena outlines essential components of a successful programme. These recommendations meet regulatory expectations while strengthening culture and reducing risk in practical, enduring ways.

Policies and procedures must be clear, accessible and central to daily operations. A code of conduct, anti-bribery protocols, harassment and discrimination policies and data privacy guidelines are foundational, but effective programmes ensure these are well understood rather than overlooked after onboarding.

Executive-level support is critical. This involves more than approving budgets or issuing annual statements. It requires leaders to model the behaviours expected throughout the organisation and integrate compliance into everyday decision making.

Training must be risk-based, relevant and engaging. Many programmes rely on generic annual courses that feel disconnected from employees’ work. High-impact programmes use training to influence culture and foster ethical decision making.

Reporting channels must be trusted. The existence of an ethics hotline is not enough. Employees must feel safe using it and believe their concerns will be taken seriously. Without trust, compliance failures often go unreported.

Investigations and enforcement must be fair and consistent. How concerns are handled sends a signal about an organisation’s commitment to accountability. Poorly conducted investigations or inconsistent disciplinary outcomes can undermine the entire programme.

Ongoing monitoring and adaptation are essential. E&C programmes must evolve as laws, risks and business strategies change. Regular evaluation ensures effectiveness over time.

Above all, culture must reinforce ethical behaviour every day. Even the strongest programme cannot thrive in a culture that tolerates corner cutting, ignores power dynamics or treats compliance as an obstacle to progress.

“Well-defined and accessible policies and procedures, sound training programmes and clear communications are essential, alongside consistent monitoring and regular audits,” summarises Ms Rainey. “Ethical concerns raised by internal whistleblowers is an increasing global trend and confidential, trusted channels for whistleblowing should be established, along with protocols for conducting internal investigations of potential misconduct or policy violations.”

Challenges and consequences

Despite the strong case for E&C, many organisations adopt a weak posture. Ms Niekerk notes that some still view compliance as a cost centre, underinvesting until enforcement action forces a shift in approach.

Underinvestment is widespread, according to LRN. Its 2025 ‘Global Study on Ethics & Compliance Program Maturity’ reports that although 76 percent of organisations conduct annual ethics or culture assessments, only 31 percent formally evaluate ethical behaviour in performance reviews.

The study also highlights that managers remain underserved. Only 33 percent of E&C programmes offer manager-specific training on subjects such as ‘tone from the middle’ or anti-harassment. Meanwhile, 20 percent provide no such training at all. With middle management often acting as the frontline of ethical culture, this lack of investment risks reducing organisational values to mere window dressing.

Underinvestment carries serious consequences. “Potential consequences are regulatory penalties, increasing regulations across multiple regulatory bodies, reputational damage and liability for directors and senior representatives,” explains Ms Niekerk. “Perhaps more costly is the talent exodus, as high performers increasingly refuse to work for organisations perceived as ethically compromised.”

If insufficient investment results in investigations or legal disputes, the impact on day to day operations can be severe. “Such activities consume considerable resources and create leadership turmoil, potentially including individual accountability,” says Ms Rainey. “In short, neglecting E&C can be costly.”

Technological embrace

Forward-looking E&C teams are increasingly adopting emerging technologies, including generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, to scale their programmes. These tools can provide real-time guidance in natural, conversational language, helping employees seek clarity before making decisions.

“E&C programmes have embraced many new technologies over the years,” confirms Ms Harned. “These include technologies for the delivery of real-time training, gathering and analysing multiple streams of data to identify emerging compliance risks and providing new ways for employees to report suspected misconduct.

“Right now, the capabilities of AI are advancing faster than the E&C profession can arguably keep up,” she continues. “Nevertheless, E&C practitioners are using AI to monitor the regulatory environment and answer employee questions regarding organisational standards. No doubt we will see more innovations in the not too distant future.”

Yet adoption remains uneven. “I know of one organisation whose investors insist that every staff member be given a licensed login to utilise a specific AI platform,” says Ms Niekerk. “Another monitors AI usage and is still in the early stages of using it to streamline compliance. This cautious approach is warranted until we can be confident that bias and hallucinations are not putting organisations at risk.”

Caution is also echoed by Ms Rainey. “Most organisations are exploring emerging technologies but adoption is inconsistent due to regulatory and ethical concerns,” she notes. “Concerns about data protection, unclear regulatory expectations and the potential for bias within AI models means strong governance and human oversight are essential.”

She warns that excessive reliance on opaque automated systems can undermine trust. “Deployed in investigations, AI technologies can speed up issue identification and increase efficiency, but organisations must ensure that every AI-supported action is legally sound and ethically robust,” she adds.

Broadening focus

With global uncertainty expected to intensify in the months ahead, organisations face continued pressure to strengthen E&C cultures while maintaining operational momentum.

“E&C will converge with environmental, social and governance and data governance frameworks, and operational resilience boundaries are already blurring,” argues Ms Niekerk. “Regulatory frameworks like eIDAS 2.0 and the UK’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework signal that verified identity and transparent business relationships will underpin compliance infrastructure.

“My confidence in E&C programme’s readiness, however, is mixed: I see mature organisations are investing ahead of requirements, while others remain dangerously complacent,” she continues. “The organisations that thrive will be those treating compliance as a strategic capability, not a regulatory checkbox – embedding ethics into business architecture from the outset.”

The economic and geopolitical climate offers little relief. “Unfortunately, current turbulence will likely continue for quite some time, worldwide,” anticipates Ms Harned. “That means that the uncertainties, pressures and polarisation that organisations and their employees are experiencing will also remain.

“My concern is that in order to effectively help their organisations mitigate complex risks and build strong ethical cultures, E&C programmes must broaden their focus, embrace new technologies and actively engage organisational leadership in their efforts,” she argues. “The question as to whether that will happen will be answered by business executives, more so than E&C professionals.”

Ultimately, concludes Ms Harned, long-term business success requires that leaders make E&C a priority. Effective programmes are instrumental in helping organisations navigate disruption and risk, while futureproofing overall performance.

Ethics as a catalyst for modern leadership

In many ways, the evolution of E&C represents a wider shift in how organisations understand their place in an increasingly interdependent world. Decisions made inside one boardroom can now reverberate rapidly across markets, communities and digital ecosystems, strengthening or straining stakeholder trust in a matter of hours.

In this environment, the strength of an E&C programme becomes more than a measure of internal discipline. It becomes a reflection of how seriously a business takes its influence, its responsibilities and its long-term reputation. As expectations rise, organisations that treat ethical conduct as a living practice rather than a peripheral obligation will shape the standards by which others are judged. They will also define what responsible leadership looks like in an era where scrutiny is constant and consequences move quickly.

The enduring truth is that E&C flourishes not through policies alone but through conviction, curiosity and cultural courage. Organisations must be willing to ask difficult questions about their own assumptions, to adapt with integrity when circumstances shift and to encourage their people to speak openly about both risks and opportunities.

These habits contribute not only to operational resilience but also to a sense of shared purpose that helps organisations navigate uncertainty and maintain trust among employees, partners and the wider public. As global challenges become more complex, this steady, values‑led approach will help distinguish businesses that cope from those that progress. In the long run, organisations that treat ethical behaviour as a practical, forward‑looking strategy – rather than simply a protective measure – will be better positioned for sustained success.

© Financier Worldwide

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Fraser Tennant