Almost all (98 percent) compliance and risk professionals automate at least one part of their regulatory change management process, according to a new report from CUBE.
The Cost of Compliance Report 2025 surveyed over 2,000 senior compliance and risk officers from 1,300 unique financial institutions across 11 major global markets to identify the most pressing issues facing financial services organizations in an increasingly complex global regulatory environment.
It found that compliance and risk workers are turning to technology, and increasingly artificial intelligence (AI), to streamline operations and navigate the regulatory landscape. However, the study also revealed that it still takes organizations more than a year (on average) to fully implement a regulatory change.
What’s shaping regulatory change management processes?
CUBE’s report indicates that financial services regulation has returned to the forefront as governments aim to simplify rulebooks, spur growth, and reduce complexity. According to the report, a crucial part of this effort is staying ahead of potential regulatory changes and ensuring that senior decision-makers are informed early.
Encouragingly, 16 percent of respondents now report possible regulatory changes directly to their executive teams or boards, an area that has historically been viewed as a weakness in many firms’ compliance and risk management practices.
The report also highlights that geopolitical uncertainty remains a significant concern for compliance and risk professionals globally. When asked how rising geopolitical tension would affect their approach to compliance and risk over the next 12 months, 25 percent of respondents said significant strategic change would be required, with 8 percent citing fundamental business model implications.
Concerningly, 21 percent of those polled rate their regulatory change management approach as ‘somewhat’ or ‘highly ineffective.’
“Customers are focused on faster insights, clearer risk identification, and smarter automation to keep pace with regulatory change,” commented Pedro Pereiro, chief customer officer at CUBE.
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AI regulation comes to the fore
The Cost of Compliance Report 2025 also found that AI will remain under heightened scrutiny from regulators. Between June 2024 and May 2025, CUBE captured and published 157 financial services regulatory insights relating to new laws, rules, and regulations relevant to the use of AI, almost double the volume from the previous year.
This increase reflects ongoing uncertainty around how best to regulate the use of AI to ensure financial services institutions remain compliant when adopting this transformative technology.
“Add to that trade tensions, tariff shifts, and conflicting legislation, and it’s clear compliance teams are under unprecedented pressure,” said Ben Richmond, founder and CEO of CUBE. “The challenge is how global institutions keep up, and stay compliant, as the pace of change accelerates. We remain optimistic about the use of AI and look forward to helping our customers use this technology to stay ahead of regulatory change, mitigating any risk with a precision and agility that was previously unthinkable.”