The ostrich gambit – head in sand, backside exposed – can be a risky one in the regulatory jungle.

French Caldwell, senior analyst with the Gartner Group recalls talking to a European company’s chief information officer shortly after the Sarbanes-Oxley act hit the statute books in the US. “He said: ‘I don’t have time to deal with that. I’m going to ignore it.’ Well, he is no longer CIO of that company and his successor has implemented a stringent compliance regime.”