Are you a business planning to go public this fiscal year? Are you aware of the new amendments in IPO regulations, announced by SEBI?  This is an update that cannot be missed at any cost as it can impact your business and potential investors. Amidst the 31^st March mayhem of closing all the books and ensuring that your business is audit-ready, your legal, compliance, and finance team has to remain on top of such critical updates. Having to go through this year-on-year is nothing less than drudgery. The key question is despite the rapid digitization of key business functions, why do compliance and legal teams continue to reel under such pressure? The answer to this is nothing but a serious lack of understanding of the GRC landscape and how it impacts the business.

The Apathy & the Unfinished Agenda- GRC Automation

As of November 2021, “only 16% of companies have fully automated compliance reporting”, states the Fortune group. This sums up the sorry state of affairs when it comes to prioritizing Governance, Risk and Compliance in the list of key business functions that need to be digitized.  This number is indicative of a sheer apathy toward an integrated approach to GRC, but for those operating in FinServ, the results of non-compliance can prove devastating more than just penalties.

Why is GRC Automation More Critical than Ever?

GRC automation today is no longer a ‘nice thoughtful investment’ to be projected to the investors. It is closely linked to the governance of policies and operational frameworks of a business and how it delivers value to the ecosystem in which it operates. Compliance is now much more than ticking off a few checklists.

The GRC landscape is unfolding newer challenges for enterprises. It is no longer about data security. It is all about the integrity with which an organization operates and its established culture of compliance. For example, ESG is one of the critical factors that drive the GRC landscape. ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) is a set of standards to guide a company towards environment-friendly operations, socially responsible relationships with its diverse stakeholders, and a compliance-first approach to audits and internal controls. ESG quotient, as it stands today, is a significant factor that attracts potential investors.

As per one of the reports published by IBM, compliance criteria such as the ESG have called for the establishment of a Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) for consolidation and management of voluminous data.

Cater to the New Compliance Requirements

The only way to create a scalable framework for the implementation of newer compliance needs in the likes of TCFD is through solid governance systems and robust IT infrastructure.  GRC automation, in such a case, would not only help organizations manage the data, and extract business-critical insights but also adhere to data privacy regulations. So, GRC automation is no more an additional burden but the foundation for creating a principled and sustainable business ecosystem.

So, if your compliance, legal, and finance team is aware of the recent SEBI circular( released on 10^th May 2021) on ESG that requires businesses to submit a BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report), your business will be much better placed for an IPO filing.

The New Fiscal Year Resolution

If you are contemplating investing in a GRC solution, now is the ‘Right’ time. This new fiscal year, enable your compliance, legal, and finance teams to break free from the year-end drudgery and make well-informed decisions. Resolve to Automate Your GRC Function this Fiscal Year!

Choose the Right Solution

Sometimes, the greatest of challenges does not lie in embracing automation but in adopting the wrong one. A typical GRC automation solution will come across as extremely feature-rich with diverse functionalities. You, as a decision-maker, must remember that not all of these will be relevant to the GRC needs of your organization, and none of the end-users have all the time to delve into each of these to explore their functionality. Therefore, you, as a part of the C suite executive team, must stick to some of the following thumb rules.

• Check if the solution mimics the existing workflow of the organization
• Refine the options for functionalities offered by the solution based on the needs of your organization
• Check the kind of service support that is being promised

Amongst the milieu of GRC solutions vying to catch your attention, here is a solution that stands out for its powerful brand promise of keeping you ‘Always Audit Ready’. Complius brings about a powerful integration of legal expertise and technology that helps you effectively respond to risks and compliance needs without disrupting your workflow.

To know more about Complius, you can call +91 9311583215 or write at sales@quantlegaltech.com

Information Credits:

• https://www.indiatimes.com/worth/investment/how-new-rules-by-sebi-will-impact-ipos-in-2022-558184.html
• https://fortune.com/2021/11/16/only-16-of-companies-have-fully-automated-compliance-reporting/
• https://www.sebi.gov.in/media/press-releases/may-2021/sebi-issues-circular-on-business-responsibility-and-sustainability-reporting-by-listed-entities-_50097.html
• https://www.ibm.com/downloads/cas/WWQXRPLG
• https://services.global.ntt/en-gb/insights/blog/the-case-for-grc-tools-part-3