Can your technology withstand the pace and level of regulatory strain?

Reuters ^ | 18 March 2014 | (The Knowledge Effect)

[Olog-hai]

Periods of industry-redefining regulatory change are hardly new. What is unprecedented is the volume and relentless pace of regulation. Organizations have to ensure they can implement the system code changes and update operating processes to comply with the welter of new legislation, regulatory initiatives and rule amendments. And they have less time in which to react to those changes. To further complicate matters, the regulations are coming from multiple sources, with no consideration of whether the objectives are complementary or conflicting, and what the cumulative impact will be.

Two primary objectives are driving the extensive regulatory agenda: a desire for enhanced market surveillance and more effective market reconstruction capabilities, says Manisha Kimmel, Executive Director with the Financial Information Forum (FIF). Some of the regulatory initiatives target long-standing goals and have been in the works for some time. Others are more recent reactions to more current events such as the financial crisis, Madoff’s Ponzi scheme and the ‘flash crash,’ where the damage inflicted on market and investor confidence has put legislators and regulators under pressure to craft new rules. …