Legal and Compliance Professionals have felt a significant shift from technology advancements.

Legal and compliance professionals have always had their hands tied to policies and regulations, and over the years, the number of governing requirements has only grown. As the cost of compliance continues to increase, so, too, have the concerns, costs, and risks of non-compliance.

Today’s regulatory environment is complicated, requiring suitable policies and appropriate technology to intelligently automate and manage all facets. To be successful in their role, legal and compliance professionals need to embrace the changing technological landscape while keeping up with trends in order to remain industry experts. This is particularly true within industries such as the financial or healthcare industry, where regulatory requirements are especially stringent.

One of the most prevalent and noticeable changes to the compliance function has been the introduction of Big Data analytics. Advanced technology systems are essential to understanding the massive amounts of data to measure compliance programs and to produce the types of reports required by management. By integrating and applying technology, the compliance process has become faster, easier to manage, and has permitted for data to be analyzed more efficiently. Technology implemented to manage and report regulatory compliance may also permit organizations to more successfully operate their corporate compliance models, such as providing training programs or verifying of codes of conduct documents.

Sophisticated technology, when applied appropriately, can automate and enforce policies, safeguard consistency and impartiality, and remove the likelihood of human error, significantly reducing an organization’s risk of regulatory non-compliance.