A Publication of WTVP

On the cover of any trade magazine, you'll find compliance articles ranging from UCCnet, EDI, RFID, Sarbanes-Oxley, GLBA, CFR Part 11, and HIPAA. There's more than enough information on each subject to raise awareness and set the direction for compliance. What's missing is how these compliance initiatives should be used to make business better.

Current compliance initiatives include:

Reversing the Paradigm

The common denominator for all constituencies is the need for easy and accurate access to the data. The problem is, as we address each compliance requirement one at a time, we end up with multiple processes that are not only redundant but, more often than not, in natural conflict. Instead, focus on the information, identify the customers of the information, and create compliance architecture. Properly done, the result will not only improve the bottom line, but it will speed your time to compliance.

This approach has many benefits. The information management architecture can be rules-based so it can become business requirement- and regulatory compliance-independent. Information can be consolidated in one place for ease of maintenance, consistency across requirements, and universal availability. In other words, get your information house in order first.

In the end game, according to Jack Brennan Chairman of the Vanguard Group, "better governed businesses perform better." Use compliancy as a catalyst, not as an adversary. Along the way, the ROI for compliance will be there, as your better-governed business will perform even better. IBI

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