Use Cases
How compliance teams use ArkComply
Four situations where the gap between a written framework and a provable one becomes expensive.
Three lines of defense coordination
The challenge
First line business units, second line compliance, and third line internal audit often work in silos with limited visibility into each other's activities. This creates duplication and gaps.
How ArkComply helps
ArkComply supports the three lines model with role-based access and workflows. Each line has appropriate visibility and can coordinate testing and remediation activities.
Outcomes
- Clear ownership and accountability
- Reduced duplication of effort
- Better coordination across defense lines
Multi-jurisdiction obligation tracking
The challenge
Compliance teams operating across multiple European jurisdictions struggle to maintain a consolidated view of obligations from FCA, CSSF, AMF, BaFin, and other regulators. Requirements are tracked in separate spreadsheets, making gap identification difficult.
How ArkComply helps
ArkComply consolidates your obligations from every regulator you answer to into a single register, linked to the internal controls and policies that discharge them. When your team amends an obligation, the change is versioned with author, date and rationale.
Outcomes
- Single source of truth for all regulatory obligations
- Automatic gap identification across jurisdictions
- Full change history on every obligation
Regulatory inspection preparation
The challenge
When regulators request documentation, teams spend days or weeks gathering evidence from email threads, shared drives, and various systems. The scramble creates risk and diverts resources from other work.
How ArkComply helps
ArkComply maintains all compliance evidence in a centralized, searchable repository with full version control and audit trails. Evidence is linked directly to the relevant obligations and controls.
Outcomes
- Evidence retrieval in minutes, not days
- Complete audit trail for all documentation
- Confidence in inspection readiness
Board and management reporting
The challenge
Producing compliance reports for board committees and senior management requires significant manual effort. By the time reports are compiled, the data may be outdated.
How ArkComply helps
ArkComply provides real-time dashboards showing compliance status, upcoming deadlines, and risk areas. Reports can be generated on demand in formats appropriate for different audiences.
Outcomes
- Real-time visibility into compliance posture
- Automated report generation
- Consistent, accurate reporting across the organization
Client Results
Real impact across European regulated firms
Enhancing Controls Management Efficiency and Audit Traceability
A boutique investment advisory firm managing diverse portfolios with heightened regulatory scrutiny from their local financial conduct authority.
The Challenge
The firm's control environment was managed through a mix of spreadsheets and ad-hoc email communications. Control owners frequently missed deadlines for testing, evidence was stored inconsistently, and demonstrating the effectiveness of controls to auditors was a time-consuming and often stressful exercise due to lack of a clear audit trail.
ArkComply's Solution
Implemented ArkComply's Control Testing & Monitoring and Audit Trail & Governance modules. Controls were digitized and assigned clear ownership with automated scheduling and reminders for testing. All control activities, testing results, and associated evidence were automatically logged in an immutable audit trail.
Measurable Results
95% on-time control testing completion rate, up from 60%, due to automated workflows and proactive reminders
Reduced audit preparation time by 70%, as all control documentation and evidence was readily accessible and traceable
Achieved 'satisfactory' ratings from their regulator on control effectiveness, a significant improvement from previous 'needs improvement' feedback
Freed up an average of 10 hours per week for the compliance team, allowing them to focus on forward-looking risk assessments rather than chasing control owners
Streamlining Multi-Jurisdictional Obligation Mapping
A mid-sized European asset manager operating in 5 EU jurisdictions with €15bn AUM.
The Challenge
The client struggled with fragmented regulatory obligation registers across different countries (FCA, CSSF, BaFin). Tracking changes, mapping to internal policies, and identifying compliance gaps was manual, time-consuming, and prone to errors, leading to significant audit findings related to traceability.
ArkComply's Solution
Implemented ArkComply's Obligation Register module. All regulatory obligations were consolidated into a single, centralized database, automatically mapped to their internal policies and controls.
Measurable Results
90% reduction in time spent on manual obligation mapping and update tracking
60% faster identification of compliance gaps across jurisdictions
Improved audit scores, with zero findings related to regulatory traceability in the subsequent annual audit
Compliance team reallocated 15 hours/week from administrative tasks to proactive risk assessment
Enhancing Regulatory Inspection Readiness & Evidence Retrieval
A large investment firm with operations across multiple European countries, facing frequent regulatory inquiries.
The Challenge
The client's evidence collection process was decentralized, relying on shared drives, emails, and individual departmental records. When regulators requested documentation, it took days, sometimes weeks, to collate and verify the evidence, causing stress and diverting critical resources.
ArkComply's Solution
Deployed ArkComply's Evidence Collection & Storage module. A centralized, immutable repository was established where all compliance documentation was stored with version control and linked directly to relevant controls and obligations. Role-based access was configured for auditors.
Measurable Results
Evidence retrieval time reduced from an average of 48 hours to less than 1 hour for any regulatory request
20% improvement in overall regulatory relations due to faster and more accurate responses
Elimination of critical audit findings related to document control and evidence availability
Estimated annual savings of €250,000 in averted penalties and reduced staff overtime during inspection periods
Improving Board & Senior Management Reporting Accuracy
A multi-national banking group's asset management division, struggling with delayed and inconsistent compliance reporting to its board.
The Challenge
Monthly and quarterly compliance reports for the board and senior management were manually compiled from various departmental spreadsheets and systems. This process was prone to human error, and by the time reports were finalized, the data was often outdated, providing a lagging indicator of compliance posture.
ArkComply's Solution
Integrated ArkComply's Reporting & Dashboards module. Real-time data feeds from obligation management and control testing modules created dynamic dashboards providing an up-to-the-minute view of compliance status, risks, and upcoming deadlines. Automated report generation templates were configured for various stakeholders.
Measurable Results
Real-time compliance dashboards provided instant, accurate insights, replacing static, outdated reports
Reporting cycle reduced by 75%, freeing up compliance officers for strategic analysis rather than data compilation
Enhanced confidence in board-level discussions due to transparent and verifiable compliance metrics
Identified 3 previously unknown high-risk areas within the first quarter due to improved visibility, allowing for proactive mitigation
All case studies are based on actual client implementations. Details have been anonymized to protect client confidentiality.
