WILMINGTON, DE — CSC reported that only 7% of multinational organizations consider themselves fully compliant across global entities, highlighting mounting regulatory strain on corporate legal departments as cross-border rules governing ownership transparency, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence expand.
The findings, published in CSC’s “General Counsel Barometer 2026: From Complexity to Control,” reflect growing operational risks for companies expanding internationally while facing fragmented compliance requirements across jurisdictions.
The survey of 350 general counsels and senior legal executives across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific found that 47% view beneficial ownership disclosure requirements as the largest threat to legal operations in 2026. Another 44% said they lack confidence in meeting international data-security obligations.
The results point to widening pressure on legal departments as governments tighten oversight around corporate ownership structures, digital resilience, AI governance, and cross-border data handling.
“The pace of regulatory change is accelerating globally, with new frameworks emerging across multiple jurisdictions that increasingly overlap,” Ian McConnel said in a statement. “From regulations like DORA and evolving AI frameworks to the expansion of beneficial ownership requirements, legal teams are being asked to manage growing complexity across every aspect of the business.”
More than half of respondents estimated their organizations were only 50% to 75% compliant across international entities, while 35% placed themselves between 76% and 99% compliant.
The report also found that 37% of legal leaders struggle to provide consistent service across jurisdictions, reflecting difficulties coordinating compliance programs across multiple regulatory systems.
As compliance obligations expand, organizations are increasingly relying on external providers to manage entity governance and reporting requirements. According to the survey, 83% of respondents use multiple corporate service providers to navigate differing country-specific rules.
CSC said legal departments are responding by prioritizing technology upgrades, automation, provider consolidation, and centralized data-management systems intended to improve oversight and consistency.
Artificial intelligence adoption is also accelerating inside corporate legal operations. The survey found 35% of organizations are already using AI tools for compliance or entity management, while another 26% are piloting systems.
At the same time, respondents cited concerns about data quality, legacy infrastructure, regulatory uncertainty, and the reliability of AI-generated outputs as barriers to broader deployment.
“The priority now is regaining control by improving data quality, creating a single source of truth, and finding the right balance between in-house teams and external partners,” Thijs van Ingen said.
The report comes as regulators across the U.S., Europe, and Asia increase scrutiny of beneficial ownership disclosures, operational resilience standards, cybersecurity reporting, and AI governance frameworks, forcing multinational companies to reassess how legal and compliance functions are structured.
The full report is available at CSC’s General Counsel Barometer 2026 Report.
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