Organisations wanting to toe the compliance line when it comes to regulatory requirements linked
to PoPI and FICA, must factor paper-based documentation into their governance, risk
and compliance strategies, or run the risk of non-compliance.
A
recent study by digital imaging market data specialist, InfoTrends,
uncovered that more than 35 percent of documentation pertaining to
health/medical insurance policy applications is paper-based only, while
a staggering 50 percent of applications within this field are done via
a combination of paper and electronic means. The study’s figures for the life
insurance and annuity sector were also surprising; more than 41 percent of
applications are paper-based and over 47 percent are a combination of paper
and electronic.
This certainly emphasises the fact that a completely paperless working
environment is unlikely for any business, but also underlines the importance
of business process management when it comes to the capturing, organisation,
storage and distribution of this paper-based information, particularly from the
perspective of both compliance and security.
It is a fact that the existence of paper within a business process is typically
a roadblock and will hinder business processes at large. Paper can also
compromise privacy, compliance and security initiatives within organisations.
So, the options are either to eliminate paper – which we already know is not an
immediate possibility – or to shorten its lifecycle. And while mobile initiatives,
for the capturing of e-signatures, are a potential avenue towards the elimination
of paper, these are also currently costly and can also be disruptive.
The preferable approach would be through business process automation, where
paper-based information is captured early in the process, allowing companies
to then destroy the paper documents, thus shortening their lifecycle and
subsequently, the lifecycle of the information contained therein.
Organisations that have gone the route of adopting automation solutions
have seen improvements related to compliance and the security of
confidential information, as well as enhancing and streamlining processes
and communication. In fact, many businesses have managed to improve their
compliance initiatives by more than 50 percent, proving that tying together
automation opportunities to compliance and privacy objectives may be a key
strategy to securing these solutions.
This is where document management companies like Konica Minolta South
Africa are well placed to assist. While the concept of managed print services
may now be better defined as managed content services, the integration of
a document management solution into a business’ existing workflow and
collaboration processes will not only incorporate paper into these business
processes, it will also help to improve value, flexibility, while simplifying
regulatory compliance and enhancing security measures.
The role of the office automation supplier has evolved far beyond the
transactional, one-dimensional provision of copier hardware to the actual
management of data; from the capturing of information from multi-channel
inputs, the classification of the captured
data and workflow integration to its
safe, secure storage and analytics.
With these additional integrated
services, a printing device can now
provide immense value to a business,
easing the burden of fulfilling
stringent multi-regulatory rules
and retention requirements while
keeping records safe from loss,
destruction or tampering.
Why paper could be the
downfall of compliance
Vol 5 Issue 1 • WHY PAPER COULD BE THE DOWNFALL OF COMPLIANCE
By Andrew Griffith, product manager: office products at Konica Minolta South Africa
64
I
The GAPP
magazine
www.
thegapp
.co.za
Andrew Griffith
