The FCA has issued a Call for Input on how to make the filing of compliance documents machine-readable to simplify a process that swamps the regulator with more than 500,000 regulatory submissions a year.
The work will build on last November’s two-week TechSprint brainstorm session that saw participants develop a ‘proof of concept’ of how to make regulatory reporting requirements machine-readable and executable. Adoption of new standards would mean that firms could map reporting requirements directly to the data that they hold, creating the potential for automated, straight-through processing of regulatory returns.
The FCA says firms would benefit from the accuracy of data submissions being improved through reduced costs, while changes to regulatory requirements could be implemented more quickly, bringing in a reduction in compliance costs that would lower barriers to entry and promote competition.
The Call for Input outlines how the ‘proof of concept’ was developed and asks for views on how the FCA can improve this process. The paper also seeks feedback on some of the broader issues surrounding the role technology can play in regulatory reporting. The Call for Input will close on 20 June 2018 and the regulator will publish a feedback statement summarising the views received and the proposed next steps in Summer 2018.
FCA executive director of strategy and competition Christopher Woolard says: “Technology is a powerful shaper of financial regulation, able to make compliance simpler and more efficient. Our TechSprints bring people from across the financial services world together to share their collective knowledge to solve common problems. We look forward to working with industry participants in the coming months to drive these ideas forward.
UiPath robotics expert Guy Kirkwood says: “Robotic process automation is already having a huge impact on the way that financial institutions meet regulatory requirements. These organisations have large teams dedicated to complying with a raft of regulations, much of which involves analysing large amount of data from various business lines and systems. The growth of robotics is helping to automate manual tasks and provide higher levels of accuracy and enhanced productivity. The future development of intelligent RPA may be able to further replicate human decision-making and further disrupt financial compliance.”
