Today, MetricStream, the market leader in governance, risk and compliance (GRC) apps, has released the results of a survey which reveal the maturity of Regulatory Compliance Management (RCM) in North American and European businesses, having surveyed more than 100 compliance professionals. Identifying the factors that impact the effectiveness of RCM, which is essential for monitoring for regulatory changes and ensuring compliance, the survey analyzes the processes in place, number of dedicated employees and departments in charge. The results indicate that, despite being well staffed to manage RCM, many businesses are still unaware of or unable to invest in appropriate technology and tools; key findings include:
- Companies are dedicating a growing number of employees to the RCM process:
- Mid-size enterprises (1,000 – 10,000 employees) have three to 10
- Large enterprises (more than 10,000 employees) have at least 21
- However, the level of RCM maturity across enterprises of all sizes is low:
- Nearly half (48 percent) of organizations still rely on manual processes and basic office productivity software such as Excel spreadsheets to track regulatory changes
- The next most common methods are knowledge management software (19.5 percent) and in-house development tools (17.9 percent) – proving high-tech tools are widely under utilized
- The department most commonly tasked with managing and implementing RCM is compliance (61 percent), followed by legal (16 percent) and operations (7 percent)
- Organizations rely on a number of sources to keep up-to-date with regulatory developments, the top being regulatory agencies’ press releases (84 percent) and then industry bodies’/trade associations’ announcements (70 percent)
The full survey can be viewed here.
