Upgrading business processes can help meet regulatory requirements

Automating business processes management (BPM) can not only ease administration costs but can help superannuation funds meet new regulatory requirements, according to DST Global Solutions regional manager - BPS Australia, Shaun McKenna.

In the past, the focus for most investment managers and superannuation funds had been on simply adding information technology (IT) capabilities to the business process.

In today's market, however, McKenna argues that it is important for the superannuation industry to bridge the gap between business and IT - and having a dedicated administrative platform is a key component in undertaking that process.

"It's about automating general administration where you can and, where you can't, you have to improve the human hand-off process," he said.

"When you look at controlling (business processes) from a regulatory point of view and getting that visibility across end to end, you can't really do that unless you have a tool that's managing that process and giving you that real time visibility."

He said the superannuation industry is looking for "in-year" benefits from BPM solutions. It was important to deploy business solutions quickly and give companies the flexibility to adapt it to their own business practices.

"So many times organisations look at a regulatory requirement and look at it as a 'tick box' approach in answering it - many do not look at the automation side of meeting their obligations and they are missing something," he said.

"If you actually looked at these requirements, looked at your business and looked at where you could go, you can meet those requirements, cut costs and boost efficiencies."