Top brass may talk up its commitment to ethics and compliance, but the reality is companies are often buckling to pressure from competing interests and business objectives, according to a new risk-and-compliance survey.

"While senior management['s] commitment to ethics and compliance is encouraging, it appears that this commitment is somewhat lower among midlevel management, as all of these measures in this area have slipped compared to 2022," NAVEX's 2023 State of Risk & Compliance Report said.

The risk-and-compliance software company partnered with The Harris Poll to survey 1,300 people globally who are responsible for or influence risk-and-compliance programs at their organizations.