Out of all tasks on a company’s checklist, maintaining compliance with industry regulations is one of the most important. Automation can make this more challenging, but it can also be key to streamlining processes.

No matter the industry, compliance is tricky. With a plethora of regulations and sometimes contradicting requirements, businesses often need full-time employees devoted just to keeping up.

This problem is compounded when new automation tools come into the mix. These assets can win businesses great efficiency, but they also add new compliance requirements to follow. I've seen firsthand the difference automation tools can make in areas like data processing, document management and workflow automation. Automation has helped us juggle hefty amounts of data and tasks with ease, passing the benefits on to our clients in the form of high-quality service.

The task of adopting new tools can be demanding enough on its own — faced with the ensuing challenge of verifying these tools adhere to all industry regulations, even the most level-headed leader might start having second thoughts about modernizing. Companies shouldn’t forego automation and all its benefits, but they do need to carefully craft a strategy for adoption. With a deliberate plan, it’s possible to have the best of both worlds by expertly navigating the delicate balance between automation and compliance.

New technology is a beautiful thing when it helps companies bolster efficiencies and reduce expenses. From simple tasks like scheduling follow-ups with clients to complex data analytics, these tools can help companies cut costs and keep up with a rapidly evolving market. They can also reduce the need for tedious manual labor requiring a high degree of attention to detail, freeing up employees for more creative or innovative pursuits. When implemented to its fullest potential, automation helps make a company agile, keeping human error and costly mistakes in check.

Adopting new tools means a company needs to be aware of the regulations that govern those tools and the processes involved. For example, HIPAA requirements dictate how organizations store and release sensitive medical information. HIPAA and its associated regulations are incredibly complex, and any new automated tool a healthcare company adopts must comply with the rules.

Ignoring or overlooking legal regulations can be costly in more ways than one. A serious security breach can singlehandedly tarnish a company’s reputation when the public loses faith that their sensitive data is being handled with care. Disastrous mishaps caused by a failure to follow environmental regulations can result in nightmarish public relations fiascos. These, and any number of other potential outcomes, can result in legal issues, lawsuits or even fines and jail time for the truly corrupt or repeatedly negligent.

So should businesses simply throw in the towel and skip automation altogether? No way. Adopting advanced tools is a must to keep up in today's agile business world — companies that don't may fade away. A better question is: “How do we integrate automation and compliance to optimize outcomes?” The process starts with two steps.

1. Be transparent with key stakeholders. When a company begins considering a new automated tool, employees might worry that their jobs are on the line — often, the last thing on their minds is how to make the transition more seamless. Therefore, one of the most important parts of any automation plan is to make sure it's transparent. This not only helps build trust but also gets others involved in the process, generating buy-in. This transparency can help with compliance as well. By striving for a transition that is open and visible to all, companies can help ensure any gaps are identified more quickly and provide an opportunity for experts in the company to respond.

2. Conduct a detailed assessment of the current compliance environment. Before making any major changes, business leaders should develop a good picture of where they need to apply resources and energy. A thorough review of existing policies, procedures and paradigms can uncover these insights. This analysis also helps identify the relevant stakeholders in the adoption process. By incorporating these stakeholders in both compliance and adoption, businesses can build a comprehensive understanding of how the regulatory environment affects their modernization strategy. While an assessment may be time-consuming, it will save wasted effort and time on the backend when company leaders have a clear way ahead.

Automation can also help a company with compliance. Compliance-related automated tools are quickly becoming ubiquitous as each becomes more complex. AI-powered analytics platforms and robotic process automation (RPA) software are just two examples of powerful tools that can help ensure consistency and accuracy almost instantaneously. Thanks to tools that create an auditable trail of compliance activities, companies can eliminate the fear associated with audits.

The next decade will be an exciting time to witness the integration of automation and compliance. Newly built software will likely utilize ever-more sophisticated tools to track and manage a company's regulatory compliance in real time. I expect that businesses will seamlessly implement AI and automation to empower data-supported decision-making. Just as importantly, they will be able to look to those same tools to ensure not a single applicable regulation is missed. As humans and machines work more closely together, compliance tasks are likely to be more streamlined and help provide key oversight to reduce costly human errors. Companies that embrace automation today while carefully integrating its adoption with regulation can secure a valuable reward: a strong compliance posture in the future.

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Par Chadha, Founder, CEO & CIO of HGM Fund, managing investments in the financial technology, health technology & communications industries. Read Par

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