Outsourcing boosts efficiency in finance sector, reveals Guidehouse survey

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Guidehouse, in collaboration with Compliance Week, has conducted a survey that demonstrates the crucial role of outsourcing in boosting efficiency and meeting rising regulatory expectations in financial institutions. 

The study delves into the expansion of the compliance outsourcing market, collaboration challenges with managed service providers, and the benefits derived from such partnerships.

According to the study, 92% of financial institutions using outsourcing services experienced improved efficacy, efficiency or maintained business normality. Furthermore, 58% of respondents outsource compliance to redirect internal resources to more critical tasks.

Ali Bokhari, Global Managed Services leader at Guidehouse, emphasized that outsourcing compliance components can aid in maintaining competitiveness and fulfilling evolving regulatory needs amid tightening regulations and personnel constraints.

Eli Morillo, a Guidehouse partner, indicated that outsourcing offers respite to compliance teams without hampering business operations, with institutions of different sizes finding success in outsourcing certain financial crime compliance functions.

The survey also revealed that smaller institutions with assets less than or equal to US$60 billion are more likely to outsource compliance roles than their larger counterparts. 

When assessing potential outsourcing providers, superior industry knowledge and capabilities were pivotal. Language proficiency and the geographical reach of services also played a significant role.

Morillo highlighted that outsourcing can provide the much-needed respite for compliance functions frequently tasked to deliver more with less.