Research
Many European firms unaware of regulatory powers
While many European companies claim to have a regulatory compliance plan in
place as part of ongoing risk management, just under half (49%) fail to review it
regularly, according to a survey of 250 decision makers by law firm
DLA Piper.
Slightly less than half of the respondents, from Europe's largest companies,
admitted that there was no crisis management plan in place in areas such as tax
and customs, competition and money laundering. However 85% of companies have a
plan in place for health and safety.
The
European regulatory awareness survey also found that in the countries where
the rules apply only 51% knew that tax and customs authorities could use force
to enter premises; 63% know that they could be made to answer questions under a
compulsion interview; 27% knew that their stock exchange regulator could search
their premises; and 35% that their financial services regulator could undertake
a raid.
However, the survey revealed concern about the extent that regulators could
effect their work with 75% of respondents believing that a director's
personal exposure to the consequences of regulatory breaches would grow in the
next five years and 76% believing that the risk of criminal penalties for
regulatory breaches will continue to grow over the next five years. However, 25%
of the companies surveyed do not have any procedures at all in place to deal
with a regulatory investigation.
Links
DLA Piper
European Regulatory Awareness Survey
April, 2007 |
