Nordic ethics and compliance survey report 2025

Building trust through compliance

The 2025 Nordic Ethics and Compliance Survey reveals critical insights into how companies across Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden are managing ethics, compliance risks, and ESG challenges. With over 70 participating organizations, this 5th edition highlights trends in compliance maturity, digitalization, and regulatory impact.

Why credibility matters

Establishing and maintaining trust is a key success factor for companies operating in today’s complex regulatory environment. This report aims to support organizations in strengthening their compliance programs and navigating emerging risks.

The Nordic Ethics and Compliance Survey 2025

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Key Findings from the 2025 Survey

Compliance maturity still lags behind verification

Nearly half of the surveyed companies do not regularly test their compliance programs. This lack of verification means many organizations are still “operating in the dark,” with limited visibility into the effectiveness of their compliance efforts.
Third-party risks are under-monitored

While ESG supplier audits rarely uncover breaches, third-party risk management remains a top priority in improvement plans. This suggests a gap between perceived and actual risk exposure in supply chains.
Digitalization is slow, but essential

Despite the growing importance of technology, 47 % of compliance functions have not yet started implementing digital tools. Only 4 % of respondents report using AI for decision-making, indicating a significant opportunity for innovation.
ESG risk tolerance is unclear for many

Just 66 % of companies say their leadership has defined ESG risk limits. New risks—such as cybercrime and lack of diversity—are gaining attention, but many organizations still lack clear frameworks to address them.
Legislation is reshaping compliance priorities

Regulatory changes are driving increased compliance efforts. 74 % of respondents report heightened activity due to laws like the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Norwegian Transparency Act. However, the practical impact of these regulations remains uncertain for many.

“Introducing some of the first 2nd line control tests to an organization can be a hard sell, until the results start speaking for themselves and people realize that regularly verifying your compliance program's effectiveness through testing and monitoring eliminates a number of blind spots.

Frank Sundgaard Nielsen

Survey overview and participation

Who took part in the 2025 survey?

This year’s survey includes responses from more than 70 companies across the Nordic region. Participants represent a wide range of industries and organizational sizes - from small firms with fewer than 100 employees to large enterprises with over 5,000.

A majority of respondents (57 %) come from large companies with more than 1,000 employees. Most organizations (77 %) are privately held, while the rest include state-owned enterprises and public sector entities.

Purpose of the survey

The goal of the Nordic Ethics and Compliance Survey is to provide actionable insights into the current state of compliance programs, risk management practices, and emerging trends.