Half Of Governance Professionals Report Near-Miss Compliance Events As AI Oversight Demands Grow

More than half of governance professionals have experienced a near-miss compliance event in the past year, according to a new global report that points to widening gaps between expanding mandates and the tools available to meet them.

The inaugural Global State of Legal Entity Compliance report from Diligent, based on a survey of 309 senior practitioners across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and the United Kingdom, found that 51 per cent of respondents reported at least one near-miss compliance event in the prior 12 months.

The report paints a picture of governance teams being asked to take on more strategic responsibilities, including AI oversight, while still relying on fragmented systems and manual processes that limit their visibility and capacity.

AI governance emerges as a priority

Among the report’s headline findings, 64 per cent of respondents identified AI governance as the most critical skill for the next three years, ranking it above every traditional legal capability surveyed.

Some 58 per cent of respondents reported that AI is being used somewhere within their function, though the majority of that usage (69 per cent) is confined to general productivity tools rather than purpose-built governance applications.

Comfort levels with AI autonomy remain mixed. When asked whether they would be comfortable with AI completing basic actions without human approval, 38 per cent indicated they would be while 36 per cent indicated they would not.

Amanda Carty, General Manager of Compliance at Diligent, pointed to the tension between rising expectations and limited resources.

“Teams managing entity governance are facing more risk, more complexity and higher expectations, all without more resources,” Carty explained. “The opportunity lies in how organisations respond. Strategic leaders are using this moment to modernise their operating model, connecting entity data, board oversight and AI-driven execution to strengthen governance, support faster and more confident decision-making and elevate the function’s role across the organisation.”

APAC still heavily reliant on manual processes

The report identified the Asia-Pacific region as notably more resource-constrained and manual-intensive than other regions surveyed.

More than 40 per cent of APAC teams reported that between 80 and 100 per cent of their work is still completed manually. APAC respondents were also more likely to report having no AI tools in use and less likely to have AI deployed across multiple functions.

The data suggests that many APAC governance teams are at an earlier stage of technology adoption compared with their counterparts in other regions.

Technology gaps matching regulatory complexity as barriers

The report found that outdated tools are now as significant a constraint as regulation itself. Some 47 per cent of respondents named technology gaps and legacy systems as their single biggest barrier, effectively level with the 46 per cent who cited regulatory complexity.

The operational consequences are evident in the near-miss compliance figures. With more than half of respondents reporting at least one such event in the past year, the data points to a direct link between outdated operating models and governance risk.

Expanding mandates outpacing headcount

Nearly three quarters of practitioners (74 per cent) reported that their scope of responsibility had expanded in the past two years. However, 46 per cent indicated that workloads are now outpacing headcount, stretching limited capacity across a growing set of obligations.

Only 19 per cent of practitioners reported having near real-time visibility of their obligations. The majority are working from delayed or incomplete data, often relying on spreadsheets to fill gaps, which makes it harder to surface a current picture of governance risk across the organisation.

Board perception lagging behind function maturity

The report also identified a notable gap between how governance professionals see their own role and how they believe their boards perceive them.

Some 56 per cent of practitioners described themselves as strategic advisors to the board. However, only 17 per cent believed their board sees them that way, suggesting that the function has matured faster than the recognition it receives.

More than half of respondents (52 per cent) reported that their boards underestimate the complexity of the entity governance function, often viewing it as administrative rather than as a strategic driver of risk management, capital structure decisions and growth.

The case for a new operating model

The report argues that the combination of expanding mandates, limited visibility and fragmented technology creates a case for governance teams to rethink how they operate.

Carty noted that organisations which treat entity governance as a connected, technology-enabled function rather than a set of administrative tasks are better positioned to manage the complexity now facing the profession.

The full Global State of Legal Entity Compliance report is available from Diligent.

The study drew on responses from corporate secretaries, general counsel and governance leaders overseeing entity compliance across multiple jurisdictions. Diligent provides governance, risk and compliance software to more than 1,000,000 users and 700,000 board members globally.

Last Updated on June 1, 2026 by Nick Ross