If there is a risk and compliance entry to the list of “classic anxiety dreams,” it may be this: running, but somehow, never getting any closer, toward a doorway marked “100% regulatory compliance.”
That intended destination, while noble, may not be practical for organizations in today’s reality of rapidly evolving rules impacting firms large and small. Getting as close as possible – especially where a proper risk assessment indicates it really counts – is the path many organizations pursue.
That risk-informed strategy may still not be easy, but today, there is more help than ever in the form of regulatory intelligence solutions. New technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are making these solutions more powerful and inviting consideration of where they might fit in a modern risk and compliance program.
This requires risk and compliance professionals to understand what these solutions have to offer, how they might differ and which may be best for their given organization.
A recently published Gartner® analysis, Market Guide for Regulatory Intelligence Solutions, outlines the current market for regulatory intelligence solutions, providing a snapshot that may help readers better understand the rationale for tools and resources to accomplish their regulatory compliance goals.
NAVEX is providing a courtesy copy of the Gartner analysis, available here.
What is a regulatory intelligence solution?
Gartner defines a regulatory intelligence solution as having two key features – “content provision,” which includes curation of regulatory content and other management capabilities, and “mapping and implementing regulatory change,” which helps ensure the organization is taking the right actions in response to regulations. NAVEX has been recognized as a Representative Vendor in this report.
NAVEX Compliance Program Management for U.S. Department of Justice guidance, which helps organizations track how they are aligning to the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, is one example of a regulatory intelligence solution.
Different solutions tend to focus on different risk terrains while some platforms also include additional features, including those involving artificial intelligence.
How do I know what I need?
Gartner emphasizes the importance of understanding an organization’s risk profile when considering a regulatory intelligence solution.
With that understanding in hand, attention can pivot next to which regulatory solutions may be best for a given organization. Gartner emphasizes there is no current “one-size-fits-all" solution, requiring risk and compliance to choose which options are most appropriate for their given industry, regulatory environment and operating challenges.
How are these solutions evolving?
Many organizations have used a combination of in-house staff, outside law firms and legal services in addition to regulatory intelligence solutions to help navigate changing regulatory landscapes.
Yet as technology improves, regulatory intelligence solutions may increasingly grow to replace the costly professional work traditionally conducted by specialized inside staff and outside firms. Organizations may be looking to distribute that work to other teams and business units – not just to save costs, but also to keep up with demand.
“To achieve these efforts, assurance leaders are pursuing digitalization that provides dynamic, defensible, data-driven and more capable support for near-real-time decision making,” the authors write.
Artificial intelligence is an area in particular where regulatory intelligence solutions are differentiating themselves. This comes as little surprise given the promise of AI in many industries, and these innovations stand to make the work of risk and compliance even more impactful in the years to come.
The global regulatory technology market size is expected to continue to experience major growth, with regulatory intelligence tools growing faster than the field as a whole, according to the analysis. It appears likely risk and compliance will see itself much more enmeshed in the world of regulatory intelligence solutions in the very near future.
The bottom line
Gartner cites a study published in the Iowa Law Review as part of its analysis:
“Effective compliance programs are good for business, and this concept extends to regulatory compliance programs. A study published in the Iowa Law Review found that consumers are willing to pay a premium for products that come from a company with effective compliance programs. They also value products from companies that have compliance programs more than they would other attributes of those products and are willing to pay price premiums for compliance that are targeted at the products that they’re purchasing,” the authors write.
This finding tracks with another groundbreaking study that found organizations with robust internal reporting programs realized better financial results. A clear picture continues to emerge to validate what many risk and compliance professionals already know – a strong compliance program is good for the bottom line.
Regulatory intelligence solutions are undoubtedly no “magic wand” for tracking regulations. Yet organizations are likely to continue to see the payoff of investing in them as one tool among many in operating a robust compliance program.
Want to learn more about what regulatory intelligence solutions can do for your organization? Click here to learn more about NAVEX Compliance Program Management, and follow the link below to download the Gartner industry analysis, courtesy of NAVEX.
Gartner, Market Guide for Regulatory Intelligence Solutions, By Lauren Kornutick, Lexi VerVelde, 15 October 2024
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