While increasing oversight may momentarily improve compliance monitoring, it is critical to focus on the organization’s compliance framework to improve compliance and integrate it into the organization’s DNA. By compliance framework, we mean all the components of a company that contribute to compliance enforcement, from workers to software and processes. The more robust this framework is, the more adept the business will be at identifying and resolving compliance concerns before these create harm.
Compliance QA testing is a critical compliance process that serves as a quality check on the organization’s compliance levels. The compliance department conducts surveys and questionnaires with selected personnel in various departments to ascertain their level of compliance attentiveness and awareness.
Additionally, the compliance department requires sample data pertaining to various transactions and processes. The compliance team then evaluates the work completed and the methods followed to verify compliance is being enforced. Any found faults are indicated, and appropriate action is recommended. This is a process that occurs in any area that is tightly regulated, such as the financial sector.
The Difficulties Encountered with Manual Compliance QA Testing
While QA testing the compliance framework is a necessary effort, it is inefficient. The compliance department has several obstacles, including the following:
- Data is not ready for analytics. They must extract data from a variety of papers and spreadsheets in order to conduct analysis.
- Departmental silos. Different departments may store data and information in a variety of ways, which complicates the process and requires the compliance department to standardize information and data before it can be evaluated.
- Bottlenecks in productivity. Analyzing documents and surveys is simply one aspect of the job; there are numerous more time sinks involved with administrative tasks. The compliance team must build a process flow manually and then ensure that it is followed.
- Strict scope. Due to the time required to review all material, the compliance department can only examine a sample of the data. While sample data may provide insight into which domains are of concern, there is always the possibility that a significant error will be missed due to the absence of sample data.
- Bureaucracy. All document collection, questionnaire delivery and receipt, and other data collection tasks must be completed via email. This results in numerous inefficiencies. The information is dispersed throughout the documents. It’s difficult to keep track of who has and has not responded to emails.
- Presentation difficulties. Simply identifying the problems is only half the battle. The compliance department is responsible for communicating information to the organization’s board of directors and other executive members. The information must be given in an easily understandable way for executives who may lack domain expertise in compliance.
Is Automation the Answer to Compliance QA Testing?
Now that we understand the compliance team’s challenges, let’s look at what automation can accomplish for them. Compliance automation encompasses two distinct modes of operation. Process automation, in which a formerly manual process is now automated, and workflow automation, in which the software assists in automating the process’s flow but not the labor itself.
Automation of Processes
Numerous aspects of the QA testing process are totally automated by compliance management solutions. The systems can automate monitoring, notifying compliance managers promptly if a compliance issue arises. Numerous other sorts of data analyses are likewise entirely automated. Numerous forms of reporting are also entirely automated.
Automation of Work Processes
Conducting compliance QA testing within a compliance management system is a highly convenient process when automated. A compliance solution enables the entire organization to provide the information and data requested by the compliance department through a single platform. This enables the compliance team to quickly obtain all questionnaires with tracking information. The compliance team may access all necessary information and data via the compliance portal.
Executive Visibility for QA Testing
QA testing not only simplifies and improves the compliance team’s work – it also benefits the executive team. The board can access a dashboard that displays all the compliance metrics they require. They can view the results of individual tests and then delve down into the specifics of each exam. Rather than relying on reports generated by their employees, they can access everything directly with a few clicks. Additionally, the data is displayed and charted to make it simple to grasp for everyone.
Interested in seeing how your organization can increase compliance levels across all departments by utilizing QA testing to its full potential? Get in touch for a demo of our American Bankers Association endorsed compliance solution Predict360 and see how it leverages compliance data to generate compliance intelligence.