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The truth about compliance automation

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With evolving regulations and increasing risk of data breaches, compliance automation is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for growing organizations to navigate complex regulatory landscapes. While these tools can streamline processes and transform your compliance and security efforts, it takes certain expertise to ensure a seamless integration with what you already have in place.

We all know what compliance automation is, don’t we?

Don’t we?

OK, let’s start with an explanation, just to make sure we all know what we’re talking about here.

In a nutshell, compliance automation is all about using technology to streamline and simplify the process of adhering to regulatory and contractual requirements. Instead of manually collecting and managing compliance data, evidence and artifacts, it is a solution used to automate, track, and monitor security, risk, and compliance activities – helping ensure all contractual, legal, and regulatory obligations are met.

The need for automation is growing. We’ve felt it for some time but now there’s strong evidence.

In August 2023, Thomson Reuters carried out a survey amongst corporate risk and compliance professionals in the US, Canada and the UK. Respondents represented a wide range of industries including financial services and investments, manufacturing, transport and logistics, energy and utilities, healthcare, food and beverages, media and entertainment and retail, among others.

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The outputs from the research form the basis of Thomson Reuters’ first ever Risk & Compliance Survey Report. And we found some of the findings to be very revealing.

  1. The top strategic priorities for compliance teams over the next 12 to 18 months are keeping up with regulatory and legislative changes, and mitigating emerging risks
  2. A huge 82% of respondents cited data and cybersecurity concerns to be their organization’s greatest risk
  3. Only three out of five respondents felt confident about their ability to address compliance risks
  4. And almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents said streamlining and automating manual processes would help reduce the complexity and cost of risk and compliance

Clearly, compliance isn’t just about ticking the regulatory boxes and staying on the right side of legislation. According to a Cyentia Institute Security Research Report, 98% of companies have experienced a partner or vendor breach since 2021 – in an increasingly volatile digital landscape, compliance is about protecting organizations from data breaches and cyber attacks that could have a significant financial impact. It’s not just regulatory fines we’re talking about – it’s long-term reputational damage too.

The pressure to meet regulatory requirements and manage complex compliance obligations is evident – but when that’s paired with cost saving demands and headcount freezes, it’s easy to see why compliance automation is on the rise.

Automation is here to stay

OK, so automation can simplify compliance processes by replacing manual, repetitive tasks with automated systems that run in the background.

There are all kinds of benefits:

→ Cost efficiency: reduce the complexity and cost of compliance

→ Risk mitigation: identify and assess emerging risks

→ Improved data management: enhance data analytics and reporting capabilities, offering valuable insights for risk management and compliance activities

→ Change management: adapt more effectively to ever changing and evolving regulations and standards

→ Improved efficiency: reduce manual, repetitive workloads to allow more time for strategic and higher-priority tasks

→ Enhanced reporting: real-time compliance reporting for more accurate and efficient data

Once you’re up and running, automation reduces workloads, costs and risk. When you put it in those terms, it’s a no-brainer.

Automation is great, but you still need support

Certificate document, Digital checklist, Analysis reports Statistical information documents, Businesswomen use tablets make checklist online process automation efficiently document paperless operateThere is no doubt that these tools make compliance much, much easier. But it’s vital that your chosen platform is properly configured to manage everything you need.

We frequently encounter the misconception that compliance automation tools can function without expert oversight. In reality, there’s no “magic button”.

Organizations need a tailored approach to ensure these tools are properly integrated with their unique processes, technology, and industry requirements. While compliance platforms excel at gathering and tracking data automatically, expertise is crucial for success. Without this, critical risks may be overlooked, and potential efficiencies may go unrealized.

Our experts provide the know-how and end-to-end support our customers need to ensure everything is deployed correctly and running smoothly. We configure the tools so you have a customized program that allows security and compliance data to be accessed easily. By taking into account your existing people, processes, and technology, we ensure there are no gaps to fill.

Supporting businesses of all sizes, industries and verticals, we help whether you are starting out or looking to refine your compliance programs. With expertise for any stage, you get support every step of the way. Including:

Preparation: We dive deep into your compliance obligations, working to identify the gaps in your existing processes and controls

Design & Implementation: Once we’ve identified what’s missing or ineffective, we’ll develop an action plan, draft the necessary policies and procedures, and get you audit-ready

Management & Monitoring: Ensure ongoing compliance with continuous monitoring, keeping your programs optimized and up-to-date.

Compliance is business critical and can sometimes feel like a never-ending battle- but it doesn’t have to. With the right blend of automation and expert guidance, you can make sure compliance is a business-accelerator, not a burden. The real advantage comes from ensuring these tools are fully aligned with your processes and technology strategy, and that’s where we come in.

TL;DR

Compliance automation tools can simplify compliance, but expert oversight is essential for success. Elastify provides comprehensive, end-to-end support that fills in the gaps these automation tools cannot.

Want to learn more about compliance strategies and how automation can help? Get in touch today.

It’s our mission to be the most seamless and dependable IT partner on the market.