How digital transformation can streamline your compliance process

United by the principle of ensuring firms do their part to provide a fair and transparent service for clients, regulators around the world have signalled their intent to continue strengthening consumer protections and raising standards further over the next few years.

And between the incoming Consumer Duty, the expansion of the Appointed Representatives regime and the planned harm reduction measures laid out in the FCA’s Consumer Investments Strategy, FCA-regulated firms in particular have a lot of new rules and guidance coming their way.

In fact, one in three businesses polled during the recent Wealth and Asset Management 4.0 research project felt that risk management regulations are likely to increase within the next two years.

So how can firms make sure they’re equipped to deal with these extra responsibilities?

As a FinTech innovator with decades of experience in driving transformation within financial services, Group Chief Commercial Officer Mark Hover knows the radical impact that RegTech can have on the efficiency, accuracy and overall standard of your compliance activities.

Here, he explains why there’s never been a better time for firms to make the leap.

New challenges require new solutions

With so many new regulatory changes on the horizon, staying on top of compliance manually can quickly become unmanageable for even the most experienced teams. That’s why more and more businesses are turning to intelligent solutions and advanced technologies to help staff handle the day-to-day realities of maintaining standards.

The latest figures show private banks, retail asset managers and broker-dealer firms are leading the charge for this technological revolution. More than half of these organisations have self-reported to be in the mid-implementation or advanced stages of digital development.

In particular, around 65% say they’re now investing in process automation systems. Meanwhile, 52% are pouring resource into smart data and analytics, and 46% are actively exploring tech-powered compliance platforms.

RegTech isn’t just a fad – it’s quickly becoming a must-have in the fast-moving world of financial services.

Optimise your processes from end to end

Firms that have already made the switch have experienced first-hand the impact digital transformation can have on both compliance and productivity.

Maybe you’re looking to automate file reviews, which we all know can be admin-heavy and time-consuming. Or maybe you need a workflow tool to help your teams manage the never-ending to-do list for SMCR, and reduce the risk of accidentally missing a crucial deadline. Perhaps you want to tap into valuable MI so you can manage your processes more effectively and aid supervisory oversight.

Whatever you’re looking for, there’s a whole inventory of smart solutions now raising the bar for what’s possible without increasing the burden on your team.

1. Simplify compliance and assure quality

Compliance has come a long way since the days of filing cabinets full of case files. But even with the added convenience of digitisation, creating and maintaining a complete and organised set of client records can all too often turn into an uphill battle without the right tools.

Record filing aside, ensuring compliance and quality of advice is not a simple one-off task. When engaging in customer conversations, you need to take proactive steps to make sure that customers are treated fairly at all times – with advisers adhering to quality assurance processes and best practice.

Using AI and machine learning technologies, our Conversation Intelligence speech analytics transcribes and segments 100% of your client conversations – bringing clarity and consistency to regulatory evidencing, and to compliance monitoring and review. AI technology also focuses reviewers’ attention on high-risk customer interactions – making your quality reviews quicker and more efficient – and offers actionable insights to help mitigate risks.

With all your client-facing interaction records at your fingertips, it’s easier than ever to ensure that all instances of customer advice are of the same high standard and drive better customer outcomes. And not only that: the comprehensive record of past conversations is an invaluable tool for advisers and their supervisors – allowing them to self-critique their performance, whilst enabling firms to upskill teams and improve future customer interactions.

2. Open up a more efficient way of working

There’s no two ways about it – file checking has always been a meticulous and labour-intensive process. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Thanks to new solutions, it’s now possible to reduce the resource-hours required for reviewing even the most complex files – without sacrificing accuracy.

Our Document Intelligence solution, for example, automates some of the most time-consuming file checking tasks. It frees up valuable time for your assurance teams to focus on the areas where their expertise is needed most. By increasing the number of checks carried out without scaling up human resource, it provides transparency, precision and efficiency throughout the project lifecycle.

The same technology also forms the basis for TCC’s High-Performance Assurance platform, offering comprehensive MI to enhance your audit trail and keep the regulator satisfied without spending hours collating evidence as you work.

Not only does this streamlined workflow allow projects to be completed at speed, but your budget will stretch further too.

3. Codify best practice within workflows

The best RegTech systems are developed in close collaboration with those who know the FCA’s expectations inside out – and are therefore designed to make best practice second nature to the teams using them.

Take SMCR, for example. We know many HR teams manage the day-to-day administration of certain processes, like Fitness & Propriety assessments. Yet they simply don’t have the regulatory knowledge to know what to do with an irregular case, for instance.

Many platforms now provide case management workflows that guide users through each step of the process in sequence. By outlining exactly what’s required, in a process that can’t be deviated from, HR can get the job done at speed – while Compliance can be sure that important regulatory requirements haven’t been overlooked.

Given that research suggests 30% of firms think more rules around conduct and individual accountability are imminent, businesses need a dependable process to manage this effectively. TCC’s SMCR Pro, for example, helps firms to embed compliance into the way the business operates and drive a healthy culture, knowing their staff are fit and proper.