The views expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their very own.
As government regulations and industry standards grow to be more stringent, many businesses—especially skilled services firms—are under pressure to make sure they are operating in a compliant and legal manner. Failure to comply with these regulations and requirements can have serious consequences for a business, including significant fines, negative public perception, legal motion, and disruption to operations.
Historically, compliance and risk management have been a manual process where teams meticulously track, update, and confirm compliance metrics and standards. Unfortunately, the margin for human error is vast and can expose a company to significant risk. The solution lies in workflow automation systems. By leveraging automated systems to trace, monitor, and execute regulatory and compliance tasks, firms can improve their ability to remain compliant with current standards.
1. Process standardization
Manual processes are a major explanation for regulatory and industry non-compliance. This is very true for firms where multiple employees perform different tasks in barely alternative ways. Implementing an automated workflow process enforces consistency and uniformity by standardizing processes across the organization. Since every task is performed inside workflow systems, the company has more control over team members who may cut corners or stray from the grievance process.
2. Reduction of human errors
In many cases, compliance and regulatory violations are not intentional or malicious. Even the most diligent employees can make mistakes from time to time. Unfortunately, when it involves compliance, even small, innocent mistakes can have huge consequences, including large fines or legal motion. Automation can reduce the risk of human error by taking on routine and repetitive tasks, corresponding to data entry, that are vulnerable to manual errors.
3. Regulatory Updates and Alerts
Regulatory requirements are continually changing. Almost two-thirds of business owners admit they have trouble maintaining with compliance regulations. Tracking and implementing these changes will be difficult, leaving the organization out of compliance. Industry-specific workflow automation systems will be programmed to robotically integrate regulatory updates as they grow to be available. For example, accounting firms typically use software that updates itself to the latest forms available from the IRS.
These tools may also provide real-time monitoring of potential compliance issues and provide system alerts. This lets you resolve compliance issues before they grow to be a major problem, ultimately avoiding fines or other consequences.
4. Audit protection
Highly regulated businesses often need to take care of a robust repository of vital documents, corresponding to permits, financial records, employment contracts, regulatory filings, and other legal agreements. Failure to properly manage these vital documents can result in serious consequences if they are lost or grow to be unavailable during an audit.
Automated workflow systems can streamline document management by organizing, creating histories, and archiving all essential documents in a systematic manner. The better part is that digital documents will be backed up and are not subject to everlasting loss in the event of a flood or fire.
5. Compliance Reporting
In many cases, firms are required to submit or publish documentation to regulatory agencies or the public. This will be a very time-consuming process. In addition to storing vital documents, automated workflow tools may also use system data to assist generate these reports as an alternative of completing them manually. This can reduce the risk of inaccurate or incomplete reports submitted to regulatory agencies.
6. Data Security Compliance
One of the fastest growing areas of compliance is data security, especially with the rise of tools like artificial intelligence. Numerous governments and agencies around the world have developed standards and requirements for how sensitive and private information is stored and handled, most notably regulations like GDPR and HIPAA. Manual processes and human handling can expose data to unauthorized access or breaches, resulting in compliance breaches.
Most automated workflow platforms come with the latest built-in security measures, corresponding to encryption, user authentication, and access controls, to assist protect sensitive data and comply with data protection regulations.
Workflow automation systems are changing the way firms manage risk and compliance. The downside is that governments and regulators are realizing the power of those systems, which could encourage additional complex regulations in the future. It is crucial for organizations to begin implementing these systems so they’ll stay ahead of the curve. As regulations evolve, leveraging automation shall be key to protecting your corporation from any regulatory or compliance risks.