Blog Article

Say no to siloes: Why your regulatory compliance monitoring platform MUST integrate with your existing tech stack

Sep 21, 2022

Picture this, you’ve just invested in a brand-new regulatory compliance monitoring platform, with the promise that it will streamline your compliance program, reduce human error and help you more accurately and precisely meet regulatory rulings. Except wait, that same brand-new platform doesn’t integrate with your existing tech stack, meaning you are once again relying on manual efforts to transfer data over from one technology to another.

Whether you’re a UK-based firm regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or a US-based firm regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the above scenario could spell disaster for your program, leaving you mired in data analysis and management, when you should be focused on big-picture compliance strategy and how that will impact your firm long-term.

In short, investing in a regulatory compliance monitoring platform that doesn’t integrate with your existing tech stack means you might just be investing in yet another silo for your team to work around.

Top five reasons you can’t afford to overlook tech stack integration when choosing a compliance monitoring platform

While assessing the accuracy, dependability and long-term fit of a new compliance monitoring platform is a crucial step in determining whether or not you should invest, it could be argued that it’s even more crucial not to forget the integration capabilities of your potential platform. Because, more often than not, if your technologies don’t speak with one another they end up creating bigger problems than the ones you were initially solving for.

Still not sold? Here are the top five reasons your compliance monitoring platform MUST integrate with your tech stack:

  1.  Data siloes create knowledge siloes.

When your technology platforms don’t speak with each other, the creation of data and information siloes is evitable. Which, in an industry reliant on accurate data flow and analysis, could create the potential for regulatory failings or deficiencies.

     2. You are relying on manual processes to aid automation.

Investing in a new compliance technology should yield significant benefits, the least of which being the automation of manual, time-consuming tasks. However, when your systems create siloes, someone on your team is once again tasked with transposing data and information from one system to the other. Essentially negating the benefits that automation should offer your organization, and more specifically, your compliance team.

     3. Human error is once again a factor in your compliance program.

What’s that old saying? To err is human? Unfortunately, in the compliance industry, to err is to risk regulatory action.

And that’s where your compliance monitoring system should help…if it is properly integrated with your other essential systems within your tech stack. Once that integration is lost and you are forced to rely on manual processes to transpose information, you risk potential errors which could have significant ramifications.

     4. User experience could suffer.

User experience is crucial to employee buy-in. And if your asking firm employees to enter the same information twice OR if you’re asking your compliance team to manage multiple system at once, chances are one or more systems will be abandoned for the sake of ease and time.

If you want your team to invest their time in your platform, you have to make it as easy to use as possible.

     5. Your investment might cost you more than the initial price tag.

If your compliance monitoring platform isn’t integrated with the rest of your tech stack, chances are you go one of two ways:

  • You invest in additional resources to integrate your systems and tack on that additional expense.
  • You hope users will eventually adopt the platform despite the user experience being less than stellar. And potentially run the risk of employees not using your system at all, costing you reputational damage within your firm and regulatory risk with relevant enforcement bodies.

In either scenario, your new platform just cost you so much more than that up-front price.  

It is in no way groundbreaking to take the stance that technology integration is essential to compliance and business functionality. However, it can often fall behind other “more essential” factors like platform accuracy and partner innovation.

Next time you find yourself assessing your needs and looking at potential compliance monitoring platform you might want to consider what a lack of integration could really cost you.