Nearly two-thirds of senior compliance executives anticipate third parties to be the most heightened area of risk to their businesses in 2023, according to the results of a new study. Regardless of company size; compliance program maturity; and, in most cases, industry, compliance professionals expect to dedicate increased attention to third-party risk management (TPRM) alongside other key risk categories.

Compliance Week and FTI Consulting polled 151 legal and compliance decision-makers as part of an online survey benchmarking the use of technology in compliance conducted between February and March. Respondents to the survey largely represented the technology (13 percent), banking (13 percent), healthcare (10 percent), and manufacturing (7 percent) sectors.

The survey asked respondents to choose all that applied from a list of top-of-mind risk areas they expected to require additional focus this year. TPRM was indicated by 62 percent of overall respondents, far ahead of litigation/regulatory exposure (45 percent); anti-bribery, anti-corruption (ABAC), anti-money laundering (AML), and fraud (38 percent); and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters (38 percent).