Using regulatory technology (RegTech) to enhance a firm’s compliance program is quickly becoming a necessary requirement. With regulators’ increased use of technology to detect issues, firms need to learn how to adapt RegTech to ensure compliance and stay off the regulators’ watchlist.
The use of technology to enhance regulatory oversight
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been using the National Exam Analytics Tool (NEAT) to enhance its examination and oversight capabilities since 2014. NEAT enables examiners to process and scrutinize millions of transactions to detect potential violations, enabling the regulator to conduct more targeted and effective oversight.
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has prioritized the development and deployment of technology tools, including AI and its proprietary BLENDER platform, to detect misconduct, fraud, and market abuse. In its Strategy 2025-2030, the FCA underscored the importance it puts on technology, stating, “We will invest in our technology, people and systems to be more effective. We assess around 100,000 cases—information our supervisors need to look into—every year. New approaches will allow us to better handle that significant caseload, so we can act faster and more assertively where harm is greatest.”
Similarly, the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s (ADGM’s) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) states in its 2024 Business Plan that it has established itself as a champion of innovation. The regulator highlights the importance of using technology both within the FSRA and across its regulated firms to detect crime and misconduct. The CEO, Emmanuel Givanakis, states in the plan, “The FSRA is also building deeper digital capabilities in both regulatory technology (RegTech) and supervisory technology (SupTech) to not only supervise but also support the financial services industry’s compliance capabilities and, importantly, reinforce the FSRA’s institutional governance and supervisory effectiveness.”
In its 2025-2026 Business Plan, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has committed to detecting and minimizing abusive behavior by enhancing its surveillance capabilities through a variety of techniques and new technologies.
Implementing RegTech into your compliance program
The right technology can help firms identify and resolve problems before attracting regulatory attention. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs), and robotic process automation (RPA) enables you to aggregate and analyze large volumes of data across diverse systems and formats, providing a 360-degree view of your firm. This tech-enabled approach to compliance gives you visibility into potential risks and misconduct that may be overlooked in manual or siloed processes, enabling you to identify areas of concern quickly and efficiently.
RegTech can help you:
- Automate trade, position, and market surveillance and identify potential risks
- Monitor for material non-public information (MNPI) in meeting and call transcripts and electronic communications
- Streamline personal trading surveillance with electronic pre-clearance, screening list capabilities, and automated rule checking
- Screen customers against politically exposed persons (PEPs) lists, sanctions, watchlists, and more
- Track political contributions data
- Utilize AI-driven tools to simplify electronic communication surveillance and marketing material review
- Leverage data-driven insights to improve trade strategy and order routing
The advantages of RegTech
Technology can not only be a game changer for risk monitoring, but it can also prove to regulators and other stakeholders the effectiveness of a compliance program. The efficiency and responsiveness of a firm, enabled by integrating RegTech into a compliance program, can significantly impact its standing, fostering confidence and trust. This is made possible with the ability to document investigations that happen after an issue is identified and generate and export compliance review and audit trail reports quickly and easily.
As regulators continue to advance the technology they use to enhance oversight, your firm must keep pace. The right tools can help you detect risks early, respond quickly, and demonstrate the effectiveness of your compliance program. In a world of data-driven regulation, technology provides the visibility, control, and agility you need to maintain compliance and stay ahead.
How we help
Whether you are looking to launch, grow, or protect your business, we offer tech-driven solutions designed to help you stay ahead of the regulators. Our ComplianceAlpha® platform streamlines compliance operations with automation for trade surveillance, electronic communications monitoring, regulatory filings, and more.
By reducing manual workloads and improving accuracy, ComplianceAlpha empowers your compliance team to focus on strategic initiatives that drive business growth. Join over 1,250 firms worldwide that trust ACA’s expertise.
Contact us today to learn how our innovative solutions can transform your compliance strategy and propel your business forward.