Using Analytics to Stay on Top of the Regulatory Landscape

Regulatory, data protection, and privacy requirements are constantly changing across different countries and

Regulatory, data protection, and privacy requirements are constantly changing across different countries and regions, making it extremely challenging for finance, operations, and risk management executives to stay abreast of the ever-changing regulatory environment.

Many companies struggle to keep pace with local changes to consumer rights, cross-border data transfer restrictions, tax obligations, and a raft of additional regulatory requirements.

This includes the onus on Fortune 500 multinationals to keep up with the constant changes that are occurring in the regulatory environment on a global basis.

The challenges to keep up with regulatory modifications have become more acute following the global financial crisis that started in 2007. As Deloitte notes in a report on the topic, the aftermath of the crisis has resulted in extensive regulatory reform – not just in the US but in countries around the world. The Deloitte report focuses on steps that regulators can take to use analytics to collect, aggregate, analyze and share information about the health of the financial system and its participants.

Decision makers for financial services companies can use visual analytics tools to help identify and act on real-time changes in the global regulatory landscape so they can continue moving forward with business strategies instead of staying mired in prolonged market analysis.

This kind of paralysis-by-analysis is not only for valid financial services companies but for any type of organization that operates in a highly-regulated industry. Business leaders need tools that can help them make quick and precise decisions. They don’t have time to get bogged down in the regulatory quagmire.

Still, the nature and scale of these regulatory shifts shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is especially true for business leaders who have active roles in research or product development/product rollout where regulatory or compliance requirements in a particular geography can suddenly derail ambitious marketing plans.

For example, biotechnology and pharmaceutical professionals who are concerned with regulatory updates within their areas of focus are increasingly using web analytics and other types of discovery tools to stay abreast of the latest policies and enforcements that may affect their areas of research or product development.

It’s imperative that they keep up to speed with the ever-changing regulatory climate. A May 2011 study found that US regulatory approvals for biologic drugs and biotechnology products made from human or animal proteins have nearly doubled over the past decade.

Intuitive and visual analytics tools can make the job of tracking the evolving regulatory landscape much easier and more effective.

Next Steps: To learn more about this topic, check out our 5-Minute Guide to Analytics for Financial Planning & Analysis.