Compliance has never been easy, but today’s collection of regulatory rules – both in the U.S. and internationally – make the thought of total compliance even more daunting for financial firms. The right MSP can help these firms navigate the complicated and onerous global compliance landscape with ease.
Most Financial Firms are Subject to Multiple Compliance Rules Globally
It’s hard enough for financial sector organizations to focus on adhering to strict compliance rules in the countries where they are headquartered – such as SEC regulations in the United States, or GDPR privacy rules in the EU. But the true burden of compliance is even more complicated than many firms might expect.
The fact is, your organization has some level of regulatory responsibility in every state or country that the business touches – not just where you’re headquartered, but anywhere transactions take place or users log on from. That effectively puts organizations on the hook to remain compliant with any number of regulatory rules. Beyond the SEC and GDPR regulations mentioned above, business operations involving sensitive financial or private information can potentially be subject to other rules in the UK, Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world.
Further adding to the complexity are the domain-specific rules that may affect financial firms, depending on the nature of their business and client-base. Alternative investment organizations obviously know about SEC, FINRA and other regulatory agencies focused on the financial regulations. But if a firm’s business happens to touch other domains like healthcare, technology or federal contracting, then additional, domain-specific regulations such as HIPAA, HITRUST, ISO, CMMC and other compliance frameworks may be applicable as well.
How an MSP Supports Global Compliance
As financial sector firms come to grips with a global network of regulations and many rulemaking variations across domains, these companies soon realize they need the help of an MSP to stay compliant. Otherwise, they risk fines, penalties and being shut out of key markets that forbid non-compliant organizations from doing business. Even within the US, there are many state-by-state variations in rules and regulations that organizations need to keep track of.
For organizations struggling to understand and adhere to all the rules that apply to their business, an MSP can start with a tailored risk assessment. These assessments deliver value for clients by focusing investments on the most relevant threats to that particular company. The MSP can then use that assessment to fine tune and optimize the entire compliance lifecycle – from proactive strategic planning, to customized implementations and ongoing maintenance of all governance, risk and compliance activities.
Throughout, an MSP helps ease the strain of reporting that becomes exponentially more complicated in the face of multiple regulations spanning geographic and business domains. The right MSP can embed automated reporting protocols within vulnerability management scans and digital business processes. This alleviates the reporting burden – especially in cases where multiple regulatory rules might apply to the same transaction or activity, such as when a health insurance claim is processed and payment is disbursed internationally.
Finally, make sure to find an MSP that specializes in protecting clients who operate across international and state borders. The majority of ECI clients, for example, have international compliance obligations, and nearly all ECI’s clients have inter-state regulatory obligations. This kind of demonstrated track record of successful compliance around the country and around the world gives you peace of mind that – when it comes to staying compliant with all the rules that may apply to you globally – your MSP partner has you covered.
