After a decade of changes, now is the time for businesses to focus on sustaining effective compliance and developing a managed risk-taking culture

Many in UK business may feel they have spent too long focusing on compliance, rather than the business of doing business. It certainly seems that over the past few years with the criminalisation of cartels, the increasing level of fines imposed by the antitrust authorities and now the steady increase in private damages actions, there has been an increased emphasis on compliance and control.

However, in turbulent markets where budgets are coming under increasing pressure, the question to ask is how best to achieve the right balance between maintaining effective compliance and also delivering growth through encouraging a business to develop a culture of managed risk-taking.