Regulatory compliance is the biggest issue facing IT professionals, according to a major global survey.

Data privacy legislation was highlighted as the top compliance concern of the 758 IT decision-makers questioned by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), on behalf of software supplier Mercury.

Anti-money laundering was the second biggest issue globally, followed by the US Sarbanes-Oxley accounting directive and the Basel II credit risk regulations.

But 31 per cent of UK respondents identified International Accounting Standards as the top priority, compared to a 16 per cent response from the rest of the world.

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.

Outsourcing and application complexity were the highest-rated concerns after compliance. Some 60 per cent cited application quality and performance as the most important criteria to ensure IT delivers value to the business.