LRN Research Unveils Key Gaps and Opportunities in Global Ethics and Compliance Programs

11th annual Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report highlights strategies to address resource gaps, leadership alignment, emerging risks, and generational challenges

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LRN Corporation, a leader in ethics and compliance solutions, has released its highly anticipated 2025 Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report, ‘Caught in the Middle.’ The sweeping report delivers insights into widening performance gaps among ethics & compliance (E&C) programs, generational divides, and emerging risks—like artificial intelligence and global supply chain compliance—shaping the E&C landscape worldwide.

“Ethics & compliance programs have never been more critical to organizational resilience and trust,” said Kevin Michielsen, CEO of LRN Corporation. “This research shines a light on where organizations excel and where they must improve to meet the demands of a complex regulatory environment and an evolving workforce."

This year's report highlights critical data points and reveals a stark disconnect between executive perceptions and employee experiences, underscoring the need for leadership to align more closely with front-line workers. It also exposes critical disparities between high- and medium-impact E&C programs, with high-impact programs pulling ahead through advanced tools and analytics.

The 2025 report uncovers major gaps in E&C programs, including:

• Widening Resource Gaps: High-impact E&C programs are leveraging advanced tools, analytics, and benchmarking nearly twice as effectively as medium-impact programs. This resource disparity is driving a significant performance divide.
• Leadership Disconnect: There remains a significant gap between executives and employees in perceptions of ethical culture, with over twice as many executives (79%) as employees (37%) believing middle managers consistently make decisions aligned with company values​.
• Unaddressed Emerging Risks: Adopting compliance measures for emerging risks, including artificial intelligence and supply chain vulnerabilities, lags by as much as 2.3x ​​in medium-impact programs.
• Generational Challenges: Gen Z employees are twice as likely to report skepticism about managerial fairness compared to other age groups, emphasizing the need for tailored strategies to build trust and engagement with the fastest-growing segment of the workforce​.

“The report serves as a wake-up call for C-suite leaders to bridge the gap between strategy and execution,” said Ty Francis, MBE, Chief Advisory Officer at LRN Corporation. “By focusing on transparency, accountability, and proactive risk management, organizations can transform compliance into a strategic advantage. This new and updated research is a direct juxtaposition of employee experiences with those of compliance professionals, providing a much deeper understanding of the alignment, or gaps, in perceptions of program effectiveness.”

‘Caught in the Middle’ highlights the power of continuous improvement, collaboration, and innovation in shaping the future of E&C. Based on surveys of over 1,500 professionals and 1,500 employees globally, the findings provide a roadmap for organizations to bridge gaps and seize opportunities to strengthen their programs, adapt to shifting landscapes, and bolster ethical cultures that thrive in today’s complex business environment.

To download LRN’s Caught in the Middle, 2025 Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report, visit here.

About LRN Corporation’s Reports

The 2025 Ethics & Compliance Program Effectiveness Report is the latest installment in LRN’s decade-long research series of surveys and analyses that track data points from ethics and compliance organizations across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. This research compliments other LRN ongoing studies, including the Benchmark of Ethical Culture Report and Code of Conduct Report. Combined, LRN industry research provides unparalleled insights into best practices, benchmarks, and innovative strategies shaping the future of compliance programs.

About LRN Corporation

LRN helps organizations navigate complex compliance and ethical challenges by fostering principled performance. More than 2,800 companies and tens of millions of learners worldwide utilize LRN analytics, services, and e-learning courses to embed corporate practices and behaviors that create sustainable competitive advantage. Learn more at LRN.com.