Continuing on from the previous Disrupted Communications post we turn to the topic of mitigating risk, which is theme at this year’s SmarshConnect Annual conference. As one might expect, this is a very fundamental concept for Smarsh at a gathering such as this, but this year’s event will surface several new trends in the world of risk management.

Of course, there will be plenty of great discussion on compliance blocking-and-tackling in the form of meeting books-and-records and supervisory requirements outlined by FINRA and the SEC. I fully expect that many of those conversations to be carried forward from our participation this week in the annual FINRA Conference in Washington DC. SmarshCONNECT will dig deeper, and include a break-out session on supervision that will dive into the on-going need to adapt and enhance supervisory policies and  review workflows to keep pace with today’s regulatory and technology developments. Our regulatory advisor Marianna Shafir will be joined by former FINRA CTO, Marty Colburn and former SEC senior attorney, Richard Nummi in leading what is sure to be a lively discussion about common challenges and best practices from firms across the industry.

The topic of mitigating risk will also address three emerging dimensions that are occupying an ever-increasing portion of the dialog with our customers and prospects. These dimensions include: 1) the unique challenges created by interactive, collaborative technologies in spotting risk, 2) the growing interest in “RegTech” and application of advanced technologies such as machine learning and behavioral analysis to risk management, and 3) the increasingly common vantage point of viewing risk holistically, reflecting the demand for solutions that can address legal, compliance, security and privacy requirements. Here’s how the event will address these topics:

• Collaborative content and risk: our panel discussion on the growth of collaborative platforms will unpack the challenges that are exposed as firms move internal workflows to products including Microsoft Teams, Symphony, Slack, and Webex Teams. We’ll hear from early adopter firms who have wrestled with interactive content such as persistent chats, those who have implemented policies in attempting to control new modalities including voice, video, and app sharing, as well as those who have deployed modern technologies to account for the dynamic nature of collaborative content.
• Growing interest in RegTech: advanced technologies continue to transform regulatory compliance, to a point now where the term “RegTech” has become so broad it has almost  become meaningless. We will unpack this topic with a panel of regulatory and technology experts in our discussion of “The Changing Role of RegTech and Its Impact on Compliance Professionals.”  This session will address common questions including how machine learning can complement policy-based review, how advances in behavioral and sentiment analysis can improve risk mitigation, and how regulators are embracing these approaches as part of examination processes today.
• Moving toward a unified view of risk: we continue to see new stakeholders appear in meetings which had previously been the exclusive domain of compliance teams. The reasons for their appearance tend to be the same: they are looking for solutions that can scan the entire organization, seeking technology that can be leveraged by more than one part of the business to get past the siloed view offered by installed technology, and viewing communications as a first-tier business asset that must be protected against any form of exposure. We’ll hit this point as a recurring theme throughout the day, starting with the opening session “Staying Ahead of the Curve – an Update on Smarsh Innovations” that will be led by our CEO Brian Cramer and Chief Product Officer Greg Vesper. They’ll walk through how rapidly evolving technology and regulatory landscape have shaped our investment priorities. Our strategic goal is helping firms to become more effective at mitigating risk across their business through the ability to embrace advanced machine learning and natural language processing technology – both organically and by providing an open, extensible platform to work seamlessly with best-in-class 3^rd party technology.

In the final post, I’ll address the theme of “Embracing Transformation”, headlined by our exciting keynote address presented by Former U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara.

We look forward to having you join the discussion on at SmarshCONNECT on June 6, 2019 in New York.