Accenture launches compliance-as-a-service solution to fight financial crime

Global IT solutions and consultation giant Accenture has introduced a new ‘compliance-as-a-service’  solution aimed at offering financial institutions, fintech and technology companies a cost effective option to combat financial crime and deal with regulatory compliance.

Navigating regulations that combat financial crime has become expensive. Several fintech organisations spend large amounts of money in penalties for failing to prevent parties who disguise illegally obtained funds as legitimate income.

Accenture estimates that financial service firms around the globe will spend 4% of total revenues just on compliance-related activities, and this number is set to rise to about 10% by 2021.

Accenture hopes to counter this issue by leveraging its human-machine operating engine “SynOps” which is the backbone of the CaaS offering.  The engine brings together data, applied intelligence, digital technologies and human talent to manage the complexity of the regulatory environment.  

The product will cater to the compliance departments of banks, insurance agents, capital markets and other companies.

Some of the managed services capabilities within the CaaS service includes a Know Your Customer tool, which helps customers verify the identity of customers as well as assess their suitability and risk for illegal intentions within business relationships.

Another feature of the software suite is an anti-money laundering tool that takes intensive measures to enable both low and high risk customers to comply with AML regulations, including the likes of transaction monitoring and alert management.

Other features include a contract lifecycle management and privacy data management to ensure data practices keep pace with changing privacy regulations.

“Today’s compliance officers need to be agile and transform from reactive to strategic in an increasingly complex environment,” said Bob Bradley, head of CaaS for Accenture.

Bradley pointed out that the cost of compliance continues to rise but the compliance budget is kept stagnant.

“By moving compliance-related functions to a flexible operating model, clients can manage risk with efficiency and speed, freeing them up to focus on higher value-added opportunities,” added Bradley.