Document automation: the key to building regulatory resilience in financial services

Compliance is vital in the banking sector to ensure the integrity of financial markets, protect customers, and maintain the stability of the overall economy. Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations helps safeguard against fraudulent activities and unethical practices, protecting the interests of both individual consumers and the broader economy. 

The role of compliance officers in banking 

Bank compliance officers are the unsung heroes of the financial world. They play a critical role in regulatory compliance in banking, ensuring their organizations adhere to the various laws, regulations, and ethical standards that govern the industry. 

Compliance officers need to stay current on regulatory changes and industry best practices, carefully analyze the potential impact of regulations on different business areas, and tailor policies accordingly.

As the eyes and ears of the institution, they need to remain constantly vigilant for any signs of noncompliance or potential risks. By undertaking regular audits and assessments, they identify areas that require improvement and develop strategies to mitigate these risks.

These professionals also serve as a bridge between the organization and regulatory bodies. They act as the point of contact for regulatory inquiries and examinations, ensuring that all necessary documentation is provided promptly and accurately.

From an internal standpoint, compliance officers play a vital role in promoting a culture of compliance throughout the organization. Their responsibilities include providing guidance and training materials to employees on compliance requirements and standards and ensuring everyone understands what’s required. 

Navigating the complexities of compliance documentation 

One of the primary responsibilities of bank compliance officers is developing, distributing, and updating documents essential for ensuring continuous compliance with appropriate banking standards and regulations. These documents may include: 

• Compliance policies and procedures  
• Codes of conduct
• Third-party or vendor agreements  
• Data privacy notices
• Confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs)
• Intellectual property documentation, such as patents and copyrights  
• Compliance audit documentation  
• Reports and documentation related to minimizing cybersecurity threats, such as risk assessments, penetration tests, vulnerability scans, and incident response plans
• Employee compliance awareness training materials

In addition to ensuring these documents are generated and updated in a timely manner, compliance officers need to ensure all documentation is clear, technically proficient, and engaging. 

Common challenges of compliance document management

As the regulatory landscape evolves, staying on top of the latest industry practices and regulations can be challenging. Banks must maintain various versions of documents, regularly update policies, and roll out new processes to demonstrate compliance with changing regulations.

Compliance documentation can be time-consuming if a bank relies on manual methods. In addition, repetitive entries, managing numerous spreadsheets, and tracking various versions of policy updates introduce the risk of human error. 

How technology helps drive effective compliance document management

Sound document management practices are vital for ensuring compliance officers deliver on their mandates and maintain the organization's stability. That’s why increasing numbers of banks are leveraging technology like document management software and automation tools to streamline compliance processes, enhance efficiency, and mitigate compliance-related risks.

The benefits of deploying a digital document management solution include: 

Enhanced visibility 
Document generation and management tools enable compliance officers to gain a comprehensive understanding and greater visibility into the bank’s data. These tools can identify weaknesses and threats and prioritize them according to their criticality, which positions compliance officers to respond proactively and make better-informed decisions.

Greater accuracy and consistency 
Automating and standardizing the document creation process reduces the chances of human error and increases accuracy. It also protects a bank’s brand and strengthens its corporate messaging.

Improved employee awareness 
When banks provide their employees with proper compliance documentation, policies, and training materials, everyone will more clearly understand their roles and responsibilities in dealing with compliance, security risks, and any incidents that may occur.

Cost savings 
By ensuring the timely generation of accurate compliance documentation for audits, banks can avoid costly penalties or fines due to noncompliance or security breaches.  

Improved internal collaboration 
Compliance documentation workflows can be riddled with paper-heavy, outdated processes that cause bottlenecks and delays. Digital document management solutions foster greater collaboration between legal, finance, sales, HR, customer service, and marketing teams. By enabling unified, automated workflows for sharing critical information across organizational boundaries, these tools shorten turnaround times and ensure stakeholders are aligned and operating cohesively on compliance matters.

Compliance effectiveness measurement 
Automated document management tools make it easy for compliance teams to generate and track key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics. This allows them to:

• Measure the effectiveness of their compliance programs
• Identify areas for improvement
• Demonstrate the value of their compliance efforts to the executive team  

Key features to look for in a document automation solution

Document automation software should empower you to improve accuracy, streamline processes, and offer a more consistent customer experience. Here are some essential features that a robust document generation tool should include:

Unlimited document formats for unlimited use cases  
The best solutions allow banks to produce unlimited business-critical compliance documents in multiple template formats—including .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .pdf, and HTML emails—, without exceeding defined document generation limits. They also allow users to: 

• Create tables, images, rich text, charts, dashboards, custom fonts, watermarks, and dynamic formulas
• Leverage global fonts and currencies  
• Conditionally display document sections, group data, and calculate formulas according to business rules 

Data merge capabilities from multiple input systems  
Your solution should allow you to store data in various locations within Salesforce based on your company’s needs. It should also have the ability to merge data directly into your documents from standard and custom objects in Salesforce or any system of record—including customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and more.  

Automation to simplify workflows 
Some compliance documents are time-dependent, and banks can be penalized for not sending them on time. So, look for tools that allow you to consolidate, schedule, and deliver documents you create automatically or on demand. 

eSignature functionality 
Unlike wet signatures, eSignatures leave a digital footprint that’s difficult to tamper with or forge. Advanced encryption algorithms ensure the signature is uniquely linked to the signer, providing enhanced security and authenticity. Look for a provider with an eSignature solution that includes additional security measures such as multi-factor authentication and audit trails.

System security 
Leading document management solution providers prioritize security and ensure they’re following the security, privacy, and compliance best practices of HIPAA, GDPR, SOC 2, and more.

Conga Composer: The ultimate document generation software  

Conga Composer is a comprehensive document automation solution that lets you generate complete, accurate documents anywhere—with data from everywhere. With Conga Composer’s per-license model, admins can create as many templates as they want, and users can generate as many documents as they need—without additional charges per document.

Other Composer features our customers love include:  

• Instant document notifications to alert relevant parties of important changes
• Document history tracking to keep everyone on the same page
• Workflow automation functionality
• Error reduction by merging data directly from Salesforce and other external sources into your documents
• Data pulled from multiple systems to avoid data conflicts and silos  
• Improved ability to meet compliance, data protection, and regulatory obligations with our SOC 2-certified, GDPR, and HIPPA compliance tool

Conga Composer lets you create accurate, consistent, and personalized digital documents that meet all your regulatory and compliance obligations—so you can elevate your brand and delight your customers. Conga is one of the only members of the Cloud Security Alliance in the document generation space.

Ready to learn more? Talk to a Conga expert today to find a solution that’s right for you.