'Patriotic duty' extends to anti-fraud, corruption.

• Position: REGULATION

A decade after passage of the Patriot Act, more than a quarter of business professionals think that over the next five years U.S. regulators will be focusing more heavily on money laundering, terrorist funding and other areas connected to the act, a new poll of executives finds.

"Since 9/11, the discourse and enforcement activity around money laundering, corruption and fraud has changed," said Michael Zeldin, Global Anti-money Laundering practice leader for Deloitte." What was once a law enforcement effort to curtail drug trafficking has expanded into a national security imperative in which corporate America has an important role to play."

David Williams, chief executive officer of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP, noted that "a consequence of the economic downturn is reduced funding and resources for corporate compliance"

"While I don't think there are a lot of CEOs and board members out there saying let's try to get away with fewer compliance efforts,' many companies now have compliance risk management programs that are likely not commensurate with their organizational exposures," Williams said. "It's a risky game to play as the global economy continues to struggle."

Among the poll's significant findings, participants...