Principal Funds, a group of 112 mutual funds, had a problem with post-trade compliance: It wanted some way to confirm that all its transactions stayed within investment trading rules, and to confirm that every day. The problem? The sheer volume of testing compliance every day would require a staffer to work all day at the […]
Technology
Posted inTechnology
Finding GRC Software to Suit Your Needs
The popularity and proliferation of governance, risk, and compliance systems has grown over the years as regulatory requirements have become more complex. So it’s little wonder that IT, risk, and compliance professionals have sought ways to make their lives less complex. After all, who wouldn’t want some form of automated process that delivers real-time data […]
Posted inTechnology
Study: Companies Lack Mature GRC Systems
A solid majority of compliance departments in Corporate America still rely on standard Microsoft products to manage their governance, risk, and compliance chores, despite the notorious security weaknesses Microsoft can pose, according to an exclusive Compliance Week study. The survey of 386 compliance, risk, and audit executives, conducted by Compliance Week and the software firm […]
Posted inTechnology
More Progress, Fewer Errors on XBRL Filings
The mandate for companies to tag their financial statements using XBRL technology hasn’t yet proven to be the compliance nightmare that many feared. It also hasn’t yet revolutionized investors’ ability to analyze and compare corporate data. Overall, officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission and others involved with XBRL say they’re pleased with what they’ve […]
Posted inTechnology
Report: Few Prepared for e-Discovery
Demands for electronically stored information are increasing, but most companies are still coping with those requests on a case-by-case basis, costing them time and money and putting them at risk for sanctions and fines. So says a new study from Kroll Ontrack, which found that less than half of companies surveyed had a readiness strategy […]
Posted inTechnology
The Results Are in on First XBRL Filings
Corporate America has finally begun filing financial statements tagged in XBRL technology—and the mandate once hailed by the Securities and Exchange Commission as a transformational event in financial reporting has passed with little fanfare. The SEC’s mandate formally went into effect this summer, ordering the nation’s largest public registrants to start using XBRL technology for […]
Posted inData Privacy
Developing a Matrix for Cloud-Computing Compliance
If you spend any time eavesdropping on your CIO’s conversations these days, you’re likely to hear him or her talk about “virtualization.” As technology goes, virtualization is a nifty idea: software programs out on the Internet somewhere serving the same function as hardware typically housed in your company’s data center. It travels under multiple names—cloud […]
Posted inData Privacy
Cloud Computing Vs. Internal Controls
John Bace, a research analyst at the Gartner Group, had just finished a presentation for a corporate client. Discussion shifted to the company’s data storage, and the client’s CIO mentioned he planned on moving much of that data to “the cloud.” The general counsel looked across the table and asked him what he meant. He […]
Posted inData Privacy
A Comprehensive Approach to Compliance Risks
Frank Lopez’s recent Compliance Week guest column, “Tips for Mitigating Whistleblower Risk,” (March 3, 2009) provided a good overview of whistleblower policy, as well as some excellent suggestions for improving the anonymous hotline reporting process overall. It also got me thinking about the importance of moving beyond the hotline, and beyond business-as-usual reporting on risk- […]
