{"id":9722,"date":"2016-06-22T09:29:53","date_gmt":"2016-06-22T09:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/?p=9722"},"modified":"2016-06-22T09:29:53","modified_gmt":"2016-06-22T09:29:53","slug":"solving-compliance-challenges-in-the-banking-and-finance-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/me\/2016\/06\/22\/solving-compliance-challenges-in-the-banking-and-finance-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Solving compliance challenges in the banking and finance sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Compliance Officers in the financial sector have a tough job. Whether they work in banking, insurance or capital markets, these employees are tasked with ensuring their companies comply with regulatory requirements and internal policies. With scrutiny intensifying, fines and other penalties on the rise, companies are making their compliance departments a priority, says Emma Isichei, Worldwide Category Director, Capture Solutions at Kodak Alaris<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0technology\u00a0changes the way companies communicate with their customers, accelerating the pace at which financial services\u2019 business operates, the speed of compliance departments\u2019 operations must keep up – across information coming in, moving around the organisation and finally going out to their stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Compliance\u2019s seat in the C suite<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just how important is the compliance department? While getting new customers and serving existing ones is top priority for any financial services provider, proper and timely regulatory compliance ranks a close second. Most compliance officers\u201477%, according to Accenture\u2019s 2015 Compliance Risk Study\u2014report directly to their company\u2019s board or CEO, giving them a seat at the decision-makers\u2019 table.<\/p>\n

Compliance is also a significant change agent; 80% percent of respondents to the same study say compliance will be the \u201cpre-eminent group\u201d able to affect culture change within their firms over the next five years. \u201cIn our view,\u201d Accenture states, \u201cexpectations of compliance have never been higher,\u201d with the function needing to leverage its influence to become a \u201cpositive and disruptive force\u201d in how banks and other financial services firms innovate and evolve.<\/p>\n

How compliance is changing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Compliance officers operate in a range of industries, from healthcare to telecom to agriculture. However, in no area is the role more important than in financial services. The maze of laws, regulations and internal policies, not to mention the increased scrutiny used to oversee firms, makes financial services compliance particularly challenging. The changing ways in which customers\u2014from large institutions to individual investors\u2014are interacting with financial firms further complicates matters. What\u2019s more, the increasing burden of\u00a0digital documentation, email records and other online communications means today\u2019s compliance officers must place a greater focus on information management.<\/p>\n

Several key technology areas need particular attention, and if handled correctly, they can pay significant dividends to compliance departments:<\/p>\n