Financial services costs mitigated by process management

The financial services industry is starting to see growing expenses from aging technology, manual processes and a variety of other issues. This can lead to poor service and a reduced reputation, which no firm wants to contend with. For many, the answer lies in investing in high-quality process management software.

BPM for financial services opens up new opportunities for firms and provides a solid foundation to initiate further endeavors from. Rather than relying on outdated, manual processes, enterprises will be able to automate key resources and optimize workflow around the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency compliance guidelines and regulations that have altered bank practices, settlement agreement and fineable offences in recent years. The recent scandal involving J.P. Morgan, which was ordered to refund over $309 million to credit card customers and pay a fine of $80 million, is just the tip of the iceberg in these matters.

Many of the issues that J.P. Morgan faced that were brought to light in the settlement, such as failing to properly control legal document information or verify that data, could be avoided with the right approach to process management. By investing in BPM software and ensuring that it meets operations needs, financial firms will be able to focus on other critical matters and turn risk into reward.

Every firm needs to "strengthen its policies to ensure details included in legal filings are accurate, develop procedures to locate and maintain underlying account documents and ensure employees and other staff involved in litigation have the required information," as the OCC told J.P. Morgan to do. This requires high-quality support systems to handle the workloads, optimize administrative processes and implement the security measures necessary to keep staff on task and in line. BPM software solutions provide the backbone of these systems, but it is up to the companies to implement them and make proper use of them in order to take full advantage of these potential improvements.

Gaining full control of regulatory processes is essential for any financial business, but accomplishing it shouldn't be a hassle or cost an arm and a leg. Taking the right approach to process management and investing in a high-quality BPM suite will help any firm optimize its operations and focus on long term goals, rather than weathering the storm of customer dissatisfaction some firms are facing today.