Some 31 per cent of UK respondents to a survey of 758 IT decision-makers by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on behalf of software supplier Mercury, identified compliance with IFRS as their top priority. This compared with a 16 per cent response from the rest of the world.

Data privacy legislation was highlighted as the top compliance concern worldwide, with anti-money laundering as the second biggest issue, followed by the US Sarbanes-Oxley accounting directive and the Basel II credit risk regulations.

The EIU research suggests that after avoiding regulatory fines, safeguarding brand image is one of the main drivers for responding to compliance issues.

But the survey also revealed the benefits of regulation aren't going unnoticed: 92 per cent of respondents expect to deliver greater process efficiency, with improvements in risk visibility and financial systems performance also anticipated.