A Methodological Framework for Aligning Business Processes and Regulatory Compliance

The ever increasing obligations of regulatory compliance are presenting a new breed of challenges for organizations across several industry sectors. Aligning control objectives that stem from regulations and legislation, with business objectives devised for improved business performance, is a foremost challenge. The organizational as well as IT structures for the two classes of objectives are often distinct and potentially in conflict. In this chapter, we present an overarching methodology for aligning business and control objectives. The various phases of the methodology are then used as a basis for discussing state of the art in compliance management. Contributions from research and academia as well as industry solutions are discussed. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the role of BPM as a driver for regulatory compliance and a presentation of open questions and challenges.