“With great power comes great responsibility.”
In a company, a compliance manager is quite accountable. They are responsible for the company’s reputation, financial stability, and legal compliance.
Compliance managers have a set of difficulties in their daily responsibilities corresponding with this degree of responsibility. Compliance managers have a lot on their plate, from data privacy to regulatory changes.
Let’s look at some of the main obstacles compliance managers deal with and their solutions.
Top Challenges Compliance Managers Face in 2025?
Balancing Compliance with Business Objectives
You must meet the objective of keeping your company in good standing with the law. But what about your company’s business goals? That can be tricky.
Many times, compliance managers find it difficult to strike a balance between fulfilling corporate goals and following laws. Sometimes the urge to keep competitive and reach financial goals runs counter to compliance standards. Compliance managers have to figure out how to balance the two such that the organisation stays generally successful.
Most organizations recognize the value of compliance and have integrated it into their business strategies. However, compliance managers still struggle to balance compliance with achieving business objectives.
Support from Senior Management
Compliance managers cannot do it alone; they need support from senior management to carry out their responsibilities effectively.
Many companies still see compliance as a cost centre and neglect it. Senior management’s lack of support can make it challenging for compliance managers to apply required rules and procedures, distribute suitable resources, and win over all departments.
A compliance manager’s efforts will be hampered without support from top management. Compliance managers have to establish rapport with top management and teach them the value of compliance if they are to meet this obstacle.
Managing Cross-Functional Communication and Collaboration
Companies with multiple departments and locations often struggle with silos. The same is true for compliance functions. Compliance managers must work with legal, finance, human resources, and operations departments. These departments may have different priorities and may not always see eye-to-eye on compliance matters.
Disturbed cross-functional communication and cooperation can cause compliance gaps, ineffective procedures, and more risk.
Consistency in Compliance Practices Across Multiple Locations
When the company has several sites, particularly abroad, the responsibility of a compliance manager gets more difficult.
Compliance requirements, laws, and regulations vary from country to country. Compliance managers must ensure consistency in compliance practices across all locations to avoid potential breaches or penalties. This requires extensive knowledge of local laws and regulations and the ability to implement consistent processes across borders.
If the business runs over several areas, compliance managers also have to deal with local teams. This complicates managing compliance even more and calls for efficient coordination, cross-border communication, and international cooperation.
Cybersecurity Threats and Data Protection is a Concern
Businesses all throughout the world are becoming increasingly concerned about the surge in cybercrime and data breaches. In 2024, the average cost of a data breach was $4.88 million, which was 9.66% more than the year before. Compliance managers must ensure that the company’s sensitive data is protected and secured internally and externally.
This necessitates conducting routine risk assessments, implementing suitable security protocols, and remaining informed about the most recent cybersecurity hazards. Compliance managers must also ensure employees are trained on data protection policies and procedures to prevent potential breaches.
Keep Up with Constantly Changing Regulations
Maintaining awareness of the often shifting regulatory scene is one of compliance managers’ toughest tasks. Frequent updating and introduction of laws and regulations make it challenging for compliance managers to keep current with all changes.
For businesses doing business internationally, this difficulty is heightened since they have to negotiate varying compliance rules and regulations. Compliance managers must continuously monitor and assess regulatory changes to ensure the company remains compliant.
Employee Training and Education is Time-Consuming and Costly
Compliance managers are responsible for ensuring that employees understand and follow all compliance policies and procedures. This requires regular training and education sessions, which can be time-consuming and costly.
Moreover, when rules evolve, staff members have to be always educated to remain current. This can be a difficulty particularly for businesses with a sizable workforce and adds to the load of compliance officials.
Lack of Resources and Budget Constraints
Good compliance management calls both a budget and suitable tools. Compliance departments are sometimes underfunded and understaffed, though, which makes it difficult to follow required regulations, run frequent audits, and keep current with legal changes.
Compliance managers must work closely with senior management to allocate appropriate resources and budget for the compliance function. Maintaining compliance calls for efficient communication and justification of the resources needed.
A lack of resources and budget constraints can also lead to employee burnout, as compliance managers may have to take on multiple responsibilities with limited resources. This can ultimately impact the effectiveness of the compliance function.
How to Overcome These Compliance Management Challenges?
Compliance managers have to be proactive and use successful plans if they are to overcome the above indicated difficulties. Some strategies for this include.
Strong ties with top management have to be worked upon by compliance managers. They should inform them about the need of compliance and its effects on the legal duties, financial situation, and brand of the business.
Using a centralized compliance management system can help compliance managers guarantee uniform procedures and practices all around different sites. This can also facilitate cooperation and control of cross-functional communication.
For a global company, partnering with local compliance experts can be beneficial. They can provide insights and guidance on local laws and regulations, making it easier for compliance managers to implement consistent practices.
Regular risk assessments and employee compliance policy and procedure training are obligations of compliance managers. That guarantees that staff members are informed on any legislative changes and helps to stop possible breaches.
The use of technology can help streamline compliance processes and automate tasks. Technology saves time, reduces the chances of human error, and improves efficiency.
More than just annual audits, compliance managers must continuously monitor and assess the company’s compliance. The audits can help identify any potential gaps or issues that need to be addressed.
Conclusion
Although the responsibility of compliance management might be difficult and demanding, these difficulties can be solved with the correct policies and methodologies.
Compliance management mostly depends on employee training and monitoring. Furthermore helping to properly manage compliance is keeping up with evolving rules and developing close ties with top management.
Compliance managers have to modify constantly as rules get tougher and technology develops. Using a proactive and flexible compliance management strategy helps businesses keep a strong compliance culture and safeguard their brand.