Page 31 - EngineerIt May 2021

OPINION

I have primarily seen this fear/lack problem than the previous example, the
of ownership raise its head in three lack of full insight/understanding in either
separate areas: area means that there is a reluctance to
• Area of expertise take full ownership.
• Area of focus
• Level of seniority Layers of seniority
• Area of expertise A final area where we sometimes see
ownership/insight struggles relates to
Where should regulatory reporting live? Is seniority. In general, we often see a
it an IT function or a business function? separation between the (lower seniority)
On the one hand, the reporting formats person (referred to from here on as
are often quite complex and need to be the “submitter”) performing the actual
perfectly formed, making use of the right submission and the (higher seniority)
protocols to avoid failure, after which you person (referred to from here on as the
are presented with (human) unreadable “owner”) who is ultimately responsible
error files. On the other hand, knowledge for the submission. As the layers of Steyn Basson
of your client and a full understanding of abstraction increase between these
what is acceptable from a compliance individuals, so do the potential problems. regardless of which area and/or
and legal angle is critical when performing layer of the organisation requires the
regulatory reporting. This means you need At times this is a classic case of SEP insight.
a balance of understanding of both the (somebody is taking care of it, it’s • individuals are able to provide their
business and IT sides. More often than better if I stand back and stay out of input and take ownership of areas
not, it is easier to point at the other “team” it – plausible deniability if you will), but where they are best equipped to
when the question of where this function sometimes this is just a communication provide value.
resides comes up. problem. I sometimes liken this to the
A focus on a single area often leads broken telephone effect. Imagine there For example, in the “area of expertise”
to a sense of apathy (SEP) by the are two layers between the submitter and case, making sure that business has a
other area, who then fails to respond the owner (call them person 1 and person clear view of the data that is relevant to
appropriately and/or timeously when key 2). The following could be a typical status them (as opposed to being ambushed by
responses are required. update flow after project close-out: a storm of irrelevant data), and ensuring
• Submitter to person 1: This season they have the tools to allow them to
Area of focus was insane, with many late nights, validate and clean/correct data in an
Is regulatory reporting a compliance broken data all over the place - at the expedient way, while giving them clear
function, or is it something that is pace our business is growing, we will insight into the quality and impact that
intrinsically part of the business that it be in trouble next year if we follow their processing activities have on the
supports? For example, should SARS the same approach - we need to do data, ensures they are set up for success.
tax reporting live under the compliance it better next season or I will resign. The IT team in turn needs to have the
team’s umbrella or under the tax team’s Regardless, we managed to get it confidence that the data they received
umbrella? How about SARB reporting? done at 11:50 PM last night. has passed approval by business
Compliance or payments? • Person 1 to person 2: Good news, and is ready to be submitted. If any
We have seen organisations we managed to get over the line - technical issues arise, then they should
struggle with this question, with some there are some team concerns, but be equipped with tools and reports that
moving reporting around on an annual nothing major. give them insight into the failure causes,
basis. When it lives in the compliance • Person 2 to owner: Excellent news! and mechanisms that allow for them to
space, some nuances are often missed, We reported on time again! The resolve issues.
for example tax or payment specific process is working! Similar processes apply in each of
considerations which SMEs in the relevant the other cases, where ensuring proper
spaces have acquired expertise on over How do we solve all of this? insight into data and access to the
a number of years). When it lives in the Very often SEP attitudes are due to right tools allows teams to be set up for
business area itself, it often falls outside uncertainty about what exactly is success.
of the strict controls and regulations that going on, and feeling like you are not All this means that the right actions
are put in place in compliance and other empowered to resolve issues. To be can be taken by the right people at the
areas (and are sometimes treated as a successful, you must ensure that: right time, leading to fewer emergencies
grudge afterthought). • there is transparency and insight at and late nights. And maybe, just maybe,
Although maybe less of an SEP all stages of the reporting process, some time to read. n

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