Global Survey Reveals Greatest Cross-Border Operation Risks to In-House Legal Teams

General counsels and legal compliance officers feel most exposed at a local market level

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The fast-changing regulatory landscape, communications or cultural differences, and increased workloads represent some of the biggest corporate governance challenges for in-house legal teams tasked with setting up and managing an ever-expanding list of global entities for multinationals. This is according to a new study¹ conducted among 300 general counsels and legal compliance officers based across North America, Europe, and APAC.

The General Counsel Global Barometer 2024 was commissioned by CSC, the world’s leading provider of global business administration and compliance solutions, to understand the key challenges faced by in-house legal teams when setting up and managing international entities, and how technology and corporate service providers can support their goals and objectives.

According to the research, multinationals are committed to pursuing an aggressive international expansion strategy, with 62% planning to move into the same number of markets in 2024 as they did in 2023, and a third (35%) targeting additional territories. As a result, their legal teams are under mounting pressure to provide the same quality of service in an ever-complex environment.

Over a third of respondents (36%) admitted they were not confident in their ability to provide the appropriate in-country legal expertise, while one in three (33%) said they struggle with monitoring the impact of local legislation on filings and standards.

“Managing global corporate governance is a notoriously complex process with significant penalties for non-compliance, and multinationals are having to grapple with an ever-growing web of global regulatory structures,” says Ian McConnel, CSC’s chief risk officer and general counsel, Americas. “It can take years to uncover the regulatory discrepancies between different jurisdictions and territories—be that expanding into the EU and having to contend with GDPR or moving into the U.S. and having to meet the requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act.”

The research showed that corporations are turning to service providers for additional support, prioritizing providers with a centralized, coordinated approach across time zones, followed by cost-effectiveness, a single point of contact, breadth of global coverage, and budget certainty.

Meanwhile, the most popular services multinationals are seeking from global corporate services providers are corporate secretary, regulatory and compliance, accounting, company formation, and domiciliation services.

“As corporates increasingly look to expand internationally, and as complex sets of in-country legislation and regulation continue to expand, it’s essential that firms seek the external support they need to remain efficient and compliant,” add McConnel. “A real benefit of appointing global external providers with an established track record and local knowledge is that you can trust a team of experts is identifying and tackling risks to your business before they even arise.”

To receive a copy of CSC’s General Counsel Global Barometer 2024 report, please contact Camilla Wyatt or Saffron Wainwright at [e-mail].

ENDS

Note to editors

¹CSC, in partnership with Pure Profile, surveyed 300 general counsels and legal compliance officers in North America, Central America, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe (excluding the U.K.) and the U.K. in January 2024. Survey respondents were drawn from a range of industry sectors including communications, banking and financial services, healthcare, insurance, law, and real estate.

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