Regulatory compliance software is a software solution for companies struggling with rapidly changing legal requirements. Regulatory compliance software is used in a wide variety of industries, including the accounting, environmental, and medical fields. Many industries are heavily regulated by their home government, and complying with these regulations can be difficult as it involves a great deal of paperwork and a knowledge of constantly evolving regulations. Software companies respond to a demonstrated need and create regulatory compliance software to assist companies and make them more efficient.
Regulatory compliance software is especially vital for the medical industry, transparent accounting practices, and companies which deal with environmental hazards. The software is designed to manage and organize data so that companies can quickly access it, giving auditors access to company records along with proof that the company is complying with legal mandates. Additionally, it helps to improve safety records within the company, by keeping companies in compliance with safety procedures.
In the case of accounting, for example, regulatory compliance software is used to ensure that companies are complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, passed in response to numerous accounting scandals in the United States. The act demanded better internal accounting controls, more accountable external auditing, and more transparent record keeping. Using regulatory compliance software, companies are able to bring themselves into alignment with the act, rather than investing countless man hours and stacks of paper in regulatory compliance.
In the case of industries handling substances which are of potential risk to the environment, regulatory compliance software monitors and reports on the daily operations of the business to executives. Regulatory compliance software geared at environmental applications monitors emissions, looks at how materials are being handled, ensures that only certified personnel are allowed access to dangerous materials, and provides a way for a company to ensure that it is complying with other Environmental Protection Agency regulations.
In the medical profession, regulatory compliance software helps doctors, hospitals, and medical organizations to cooperate with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which radically changed the way in which patient information is processed and handled. HIPAA also made extensive demands on record keeping procedure which could be facilitated with the assistance of regulatory compliance software.
Regulatory compliance software is used in a wide variety of other industries as well, and is aimed at improving transparency, accountability, and record keeping. In response to compromises of data and integrity in a large number of industries, the United States Government has enacted a great deal of legislation which can be confusing or frustrating when faced alone. These regulations represent a potentially huge investment of people, time, and materials for many companies. With the assistance of regulatory compliance software, however, companies can focus their energy on their central goals, whether they be improving human health or selling gasoline.
