Navigating the Unpredictable Swinging of the Financial Regulation Pendulum
- by Sylvie MacKenzie, PMP
Written by Guest Blogger: Maureen Clifford, Sr Product Marketing Manager, Oracle
The
pendulum of the regulatory clock is constantly in motion, albeit often not in
any particular rhythm. Nevertheless, given what many insurers have been
through economically, any movement can send shock waves through critical
innovation and operational plans. As pointed out in Deloitte’s 2012
Global Insurance Outlook, the impact of regulatory reform can cause major
uncertainty in the area of costs. As the reality of increasing government
regulations settles in, the change that comes along with it creates more
challenges in compliance and ultimately on delivering the optimum return on
investment. The result of this changing environment is a proliferation of
compliance projects that must be executed with an already constrained set of
resources, budget and time.
Insurers
are confronted by the need to gain visibility into all of their compliance
efforts and proactively manage them. Currently that is very difficult to
do as these projects often are being managed by groups across the enterprise
and they lack a way to coordinate their efforts and drive greater
synergies. With limited visibility and equally limited resources it is no
surprise that reporting on project status and determining realistic completion
of these projects is only a dream. As a result, compliance deadlines are
missed, penalties are incurred, credibility with key stakeholders and the
public is jeopardized and returns and competitive advantage go unrealized.
Insurers
need to ask themselves some key questions:
Do
I have “one stop” visibility into all of my compliance efforts? If not,
what can I do to change that?
What
is top priority and how does that impact my already taxed resources?
How
can I figure out how to best balance my resources to get these compliance
projects done as well as keep key innovation and operational efforts on track?
How
can ensure that I have all the requisite documentation for each compliance
project I undertake?
Dealing with complying with regulatory efforts is a necessary evil. Don't let the regulatory pendulum sideline your efforts to generate the greatest return on investment for your key stakeholders.
