02 Where the Money Actually Goes: The Hidden Misallocation Driving Corporate Compliance Failures
Organizations routinely direct the largest portions of their compliance budgets toward tools and initiatives that are visible, defensible, and impressive in board presentations—while chronically underfunding the quieter mechanisms that actually stop violations before they occur. This misallocation is not accidental; it reflects deeply embedded organizational incentives that reward the appearance of rigor over its substance. Understanding where those incentives originate is the first step toward