ComplyAdvantage: Why Compliance Must Catch Up With Reality

Dr Nicola Harding, criminologist and expert in fraud and financial crime, delivered a refreshingly human perspective on an industry often dominated by regulation, process, and technology. Harding’s work sits at the intersection of lived experience, behavioural insight, and crime prevention — and her central message is clear: compliance must evolve in line with the reality of modern crime.

For Harding, the most encouraging aspect of Catalyst is the collective willingness to move beyond “tick-box compliance.” The financial crime landscape has changed dramatically, yet many compliance frameworks remain rooted in assumptions from a different era. Just because something has always been done a certain way, she argues, does not mean it is still fit for purpose. Crime evolves quickly — and compliance must move with it, not trail behind.

While much of the industry discussion around AI is framed through fear and vulnerability, Harding takes a more optimistic — and pragmatic — view. Criminals are already using advanced technologies, including AI. The real risk, she suggests, lies in not using those same tools defensively. When applied intelligently, emerging technologies can help shift compliance into the background — where, when done well, it should sit. The ultimate goal is a world where most people never have to think about compliance at all, because systems quietly protect them without friction.

Harding is characteristically blunt when it comes to the future of financial crime. Fraud already accounts for more than 40% of all recorded crime in the UK, with similar patterns emerging globally. That reality is not going away. What must change, however, is how the industry conceptualises criminals themselves. Increasingly, financial crime is being committed by a generation that has never known a world without smartphones, apps, and constant connectivity. These are not individuals “learning” technology — they are immersed in it from birth.

This shift demands a fundamental rethink of compliance strategy. Legacy assumptions about who criminals are and how they operate no longer hold. Defences designed for yesterday’s threats will not stop today’s attacks.

When asked what compliance leaders should do right now, Harding’s advice is deceptively simple: get the basics right. In a world of constant regulatory change and pressure, fundamentals are often overlooked. Know your customer — but also be your customer. Harding challenges compliance professionals to regularly go through their own onboarding journeys, experience friction firsthand, and test whether controls work as intended rather than as assumed.

Her message is both sobering and empowering. Financial crime is not disappearing. But by grounding compliance in reality, embracing new tools intelligently, and staying relentlessly focused on fundamentals, institutions can build defences that are not just compliant — but genuinely effective.