Regulatory reporting: is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Imagine your regulatory report as a tunnel. At the drawing table you make a perfect design. It is clear how the tunnel should be constructed. Everybody knows what to do to move forward: directions are clearly defined by supervisory authorities. After taking another 100 steps, you are informed that the tunnel is still under construction and is becoming longer by the day. Also, due to large reorganizations you had to say goodbye to some colleagues with whom you worked on the tunnel for a long time. You feel frustrated and demotivated. The team spirit with which you entered the tunnel is almost gone. You have no clue how long the tunnel will be, let alone when you will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Soon you realize there is no escape from the tunnel. The same goes for regulatory reporting requirements. Accepting the situation and trying to make the best of it is hard but seems to be the only way forward.

To brighten your day, we offer three light bulbs to guide your way through your regulatory reporting journey.

Light bulb #1 – You can move faster when you go digital

When you ask yourself the question how to combine an increased amount of new regulations with a limited workforce, the answer may be: perform the same activities faster, and with less manual interventions. As easy as this may sound, you will need a clear strategy for meeting regulatory requirements including a digital approach. With so many regulations it is necessary to make a breakdown of all required initiatives.

If you want to have a good view on where it is you are heading to, start creating your digital vision based on the following building blocks. Knowing how you can achieve your vision starts with acknowledging where you are today.

Digital solutions, like Regulatory Technology, Robotics Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Social and Blockchain, can all be used to bring the Digital Regulatory Reporting function to a higher level.

Light bulb #2 – Other colleagues like your agenda

Taking your regulatory reporting to the next level involves a broad transformation with many stakeholders. Don’t think that it is just a compliance exercise! On the contrary. You can sell your initiatives to your colleagues from different departments. Know that solving the Regulatory Reporting challenges will give an enormous positive impulse on daily management information needed for monitoring and steering of the bank. And this is where you trigger the attention of other colleagues: lower capital requirements and funding costs due to more precise information and less time to gather and process this.

Light bulb #3 – A dare devil lives inside you

With your clear regulatory reporting vision defined it is time to execute. With many different departments involved, it may not be clear who is leading all this. A great opportunity for you to take the lead! After all, you are the expert on regulatory reporting. Being in the lead is a good way to stay in control and can prevent some sleepless nights about losing your banking license and other punishments related to non-compliance.