Accenture’s most recent compliance study highlights several import findings;

•  89% of institutions surveyed are projecting an increase in compliance investments in the next 2 years
• They also state that in many cases, compliance departments have not taken advantage of the tools and technologies that can help it leverage the investments
• Compliance has now assumed it rightful place alongside other functions such as Finance and Risk within FIs as a mature control organization
• 51% surveyed forecast cyber risk to be in the top 3 most challenging risks to manage within 3 years

 This report is consistent with our clients plans. One of our clients – a leading Canadian bank – has estimated that total spending on compliance related costs is approaching $1B.  We also see a major opportunity for the industry to better leverage the compliance tools and applications to drive higher ROI and better compliance efficiencies.  The rising concern with cyber risk is aligned with the messages that we heard last week at the ICD Cybersecurity and Privacy panel – the key message is that cybersecurity and privacy cannot be viewed as isolated initiatives – an integrated approach to protecting your organization from these increasing risks is critical.

While the Accenture study projects an increased compliance burden, the light at the end of the tunnel is that there are emerging technologies that will help our clients manage this burden.

Tags: Industry