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Jan 15
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Ascent Adds Australia’s ASIC and APRA to Regulatory Roster

By Blog

“It is absolutely mission critical that Australian financial institutions pay close attention to their obligations under ASIC and APRA, and Ascent’s AI-driven approach can play a key role in protecting firms from risk and reputational damage.” —Jeff Heine, Chief Revenue Officer, Ascent

Ascent announced today the addition of major new regulators — the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) — to its AI-driven compliance platform. Specifically, the update includes a significant number of acts under ASIC and APRA that are most relevant for banks and securities firms operating in Australia. 

Using proprietary RegulationAI™, Ascent dynamically generates the regulatory obligations and ongoing rule updates that apply to the customer, saving businesses significant time and money in analysing regulation manually. This intelligent Obligations Register is unique to every customer. Also included are the regulatory rulebooks and other documents including press releases, guidance notes, enforcement actions and more.

Recent legislation such as the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) in Australia and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) in the UK seek greater accountability from individuals and executives. In this climate of mounting pressure, Ascent helps customers gain confidence in their compliance programs. 

Among the key additions to Ascent being announced today are:

1. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

ASIC is Australia’s integrated corporate, markets, financial services and consumer credit regulator. It is an independent Commonwealth Government body established by and tasked with administering the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act). ASIC regulates Australian companies, financial markets, financial services organizations and professionals who deal and advise in investments, superannuation, insurance, deposit taking and credit. All of the following are now supported in Ascent:

  • Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act)
  • Business Names Registration Act 2011
  • Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act)
  • Insurance Contracts Act 1984
  • National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (National Credit Act)
  • Banking Act 1959
  • Life Insurance Act 1995
  • Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997
  • Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993
  • Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act)

2. Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)

APRA develops and enforces prudential regulation of Authorized Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs), general insurance companies and superannuation funds in order to ensure the stability, safety, efficiency, competition and contestability of the financial system. Ascent has now added the most crucial acts under APRA’s purview impacting financial institutions, including:

  • Banking Act 1959
  • Banking Regulations 2016
  • Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001
  • Insurance Act 1973
  • Life Insurance Regulations
  • Life Insurance Supervisory Levy Imposition Act 1998
  • Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994
  • Retirement Savings Accounts Regulations 1997
  • Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR); and more.

“We are continually monitoring the global regulatory landscape and have witnessed increasingly strong demand for RegTech in the Australian market,” said Jeff Heine, Chief Revenue Officer with Ascent. “We are very pleased to make these updates to our offering. It is absolutely mission critical that Australian financial institutions pay close attention to their obligations under ASIC and APRA, and Ascent’s AI-driven approach can play a key role in protecting firms from risk and reputational damage. And it’s not only firm-level risk that needs to be accounted for; executives must now be cognizant of their personal liability for compliance failures as well due to BEAR and similar legislation around the world.”

Ascent is continually expanding its regulatory coverage in order to better serve its customers worldwide.

To learn more, request a meeting with our Sales team below.


Jan 13
Love3

Ascent Named One of Chicago’s Best Places to Work and Best Small Companies to Work for in 2020 by Built In

By Blog, Culture

“We are pleased to be recognized by Built In Chicago and included among such a prestigious group of local companies.” —Brian Clark, Founder & CEO, Ascent

Ascent, an AI-driven solution that helps customers automate regulatory compliance, today announced that it was included on Built In Chicago’s list of Best Places to Work and Best Small Companies to Work for in 2020. Companies are selected based on data submitted by companies and their employees.

Brian Clark, Ascent Founder & CEO, commented, “As Ascent continues to gain momentum and recognition with customers and regulators worldwide, the key to our success remains the strength of our team. We are pleased to be recognized by Built In Chicago and included among such a prestigious group of local companies.”

Using proprietary RegulationAI™, Ascent dynamically generates the regulatory obligations and ongoing rule updates that apply to the customer, saving businesses significant time and money in analyzing regulation manually. 

Ascent has been rapidly gaining momentum since its founding in 2015. Since its inception, Ascent has expanded to 45+ full-time employees and secured $26.7M in funding, having closed its Series B in November 2019.  

In addition, Ascent recently hired Carrie Pinkham as its new VP of People, further demonstrating the firm’s continued commitment to building a great people-first company culture.

“Being named one of Built In’s Best Places to Work is a clear indicator that Ascent’s strong focus on investing in its people and core company culture of shared values is resonating not only with our team but the larger startup community in Chicago as well.” —Carrie Pinkham, VP of People, Ascent

“Being named one of Built In’s Best Places to Work is a clear indicator that Ascent’s strong focus on investing in its people and core company culture of shared values is resonating not only with our team but the larger startup community in Chicago as well,” said Pinkham. “With plans to double our headcount in 2020, I am very excited to help Ascent continue to foster a vibrant staff-led organization at scale going forward.”

Ascent has customers all over the world from Tier 1 and Tier 2 banks and other financial institutions. Ascent is continually expanding its regulatory coverage in order to better serve its customers worldwide. 

Maria Christopoulos Katris, CEO and Co-Founder of Built In, said: “We extend our heartfelt congratulations to our 2020 honorees. Built In aims to change lives by connecting talented tech professionals with jobs they were born to do. These companies have become part of that mission because they stand for more than just the work they’re doing. They stand for their people and purpose.” 

LEARN MORE: 43 Chicago FinTech Companies Revolutionizing Financial Services

 

To see our open positions and learn more about joining our team, visit our Careers page via the link below.

JOIN OUR TEAM

 

Dec 20
Love1

How Ascent Helped a Global Top 50 Bank Wrestle the BEAR

By Blog

Case Study

A Global Top 50 Bank identified the need to more proactively and appropriately respond to regulatory change. Their objective was seen as especially crucial in light of today’s climate of heightened personal responsibility ushered in by recent developments such as the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) in Australia and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) in the UK.

Our Customer at a Glance

  • $20B Annual Revenue
  • 30,000 Employees
  • 1,000+ Locations Worldwide
  • 300+ Regulating Bodies to Comply With

The Problem

Our customer sought a technology solution to address the following challenges:

  • Rising volume of regulatory change, which is impossible to track manually.
  • Challenges with understanding their entire regulatory landscape, including international and domestic requirements.
  • Lack of internal visibility and traceability throughout the regulatory change management process.

These challenges led to missed rule changes and regulatory infractions.

Partnering with Ascent

The Global Bank initiated a project with Ascent to help reduce the highly manual (and inherently risky) effort of regulatory intake and analysis, as well as to provide more visibility into how regulatory changes are tracked, reviewed, and applied to the business.

The Results

— Significant Reduction of Manual Effort. Ascent automatically provides a feed of regulatory changes, eliminating the need to scour regulator websites and other sources.

— Improved Accuracy in Pinpointing Relevant Requirements. Ascent dynamically generates the list of all relevant regulatory changes according to our customer’s specific products and markets.

— Greater Visibility and Traceability. Our customer is able to view relevant changes, track the transfer of the change between departments, and facilitate review of the change by team members. This capability allows the Bank to effectively identify, triage, and track changes.

We help you comply with confidence.

Modern challenges require modern tools. Interested in seeing how Ascent can help you stay ahead of regulations like BEAR around the world?

Contact Us

Dec 16
Love1

Forecasting RegTech: 2019 Trends and 2020 Predictions

By Blog

(7 min read)

“RegTech is no longer just for early adopters. We’re starting to see the actual, tangible benefit these technologies can provide.” -Brian Clark, CEO, Ascent

2020 is set to be a big year for the RegTech industry, and the start of an even bigger decade. We’ve seen a significant investment in the RegTech space over the last handful of years, galvanized by the technological advancements that now allow RegTech to solve real problems for Compliance and Risk teams, saving them money and time and reducing risk in the process.

Now on the doorstep of the new decade, we wanted to take a moment to look back briefly at some of the trends we saw in 2019 and peek into our crystal ball as we make a few predictions about the year ahead.

Trends We Saw in 2019

RegTech has crossed the chasm. Last year was the year that RegTech stopped being a thing that was going to happen and started being a thing that was happening. Companies moved past pilots and out of the innovation phase and began operationalizing benefits in a production environment. As Ascent Founder and CEO Brian Clark put it, “RegTech is no longer just for early adopters. We’re starting to see the actual, tangible benefit these technologies can provide.”

The wheat started separating from the chaff. As part of that evolution out of the innovation phase, RegTech ventures either found and connected up with a market demand — or they didn’t. And with those that didn’t, we started to see the first handful of failures. Ultimately, this will be good for financial institutions as it will make it easier to identify which companies are truly creating value.

Regulators went on the record about RegTech. This year we also started to see regulators asking firms what they’re doing to leverage RegTech. This is obviously an exciting theme for the RegTech industry, but it’s also exciting for financial institutions. As regulators embrace technology as a viable solution, it should help give Risk and Compliance teams a path forward through the growing and increasingly dangerous regulatory maze. Speaking of . . .

Pressures to comply only increased. Unsurprisingly (and unpleasantly), we only saw more enforcement actions with higher regulatory fines, creating more pressure on Risk and Compliance teams. The FCA kicked off 2019 by levying its largest personal fine ever and ended up filing 160 enforcement actions before the year was over. Not to be outdone, the SEC published a whopping 2,754 enforcement actions this year alone, including 95 against public companies — the highest number in a decade. Just as unsurprisingly: this isn’t a trend we expect to dissipate anytime soon.

The marketplace became even more global. And, because of this, regulations and privacy legislation became more global too. This means that companies operating in international markets have yet more rules and regulations they’re required to be in compliance with. We discuss more below as, like the others above, we don’t think this one is going away any time soon.

Trends We Expect to See in 2020 in the RegTech Industry

Operationalizing will be the name of the game. Moving out of the innovation phase, it will be key for RegTech ventures to lock down operationalizing and scale so that they can answer the very important question they keep hearing from financial institutions: “Can you prove to me this thing actually works?”

We’ll likely see still more investment, but done thoughtfully. In the first 3 quarters of 2019 alone,  investment in the RegTech space grew by 103%. We expect we’ll continue to see more funding, but it will be of the middle-stage, thoughtful kind. Now that the ideas are out on the table, investors will be looking to find companies that are demonstrating product fit by acquiring more customers. This will be a tell-tale sign for financial institutions, too, as they evaluate potential solutions.

Look out for a burgeoning ecosystem. As RegTech separates further from FinTech and truly becomes its own industry, we expect to see additional technologies and ventures popping up to create a supportive ecosystem. Financial institutions should keep an eye out for things like consultancies, which can help them evaluate and implement RegTech solutions, and complementary tech like open APIs, which would allow them to plug new solutions into existing systems.

READ ARTICLE: Building RegulationAI: Solving Compliance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

 

. . . in Financial Services

Brace for the crunch. Increasing cost pressures on both the buy and sell side, shrinking margins, the rise of formidable FinTech and challenger banks — all of these factors are likely to continue, further driving the consolidation trend we’ve seen recently and helping firms realize that, for some of these obstacles, technology offers the only viable route forward.

Increased globalization means increased risk. We expect this trend from 2019 to only get more prevalent and more dangerous. Think of it as a simple risk array: Firms are operating in more marketplaces doing more things with increasingly larger penalties — and they’re doing it with the same amount of staff. They can scale up personnel until payroll begins to buckle, or they can turn to technology.

READ ARTICLE: How Ascent Simplifies Regulatory Change Management with Automation

 

. . . from Regulators

Big topics will get a lot of attention. Privacy, cybersecurity, and cryptocurrency are all major themes we expect to see regulators continue to focus on in 2020. Additionally, other headline-makers like Brexit will likely cause a lot of activity. And the looming recession(s), if actualized, would kick off more action by central banks, more uncertainty, and a lot more work for regulatory compliance.

No appetite for keeping quiet. The above themes and others seem to be in the news on a near daily basis, giving regulators not just an incentive but a public mandate to become increasingly effective. This comes with the need to be stronger in enforcement actions, one contributor to some of those major fines we’ve seen recently.

Jurisdictional arbitrage is no more. The days when you could choose your jurisdiction according to a region’s regulatory policies are largely over. The globalization of the marketplace means that more financial institutions (including many SMEs) are operating in multiple countries, and so they’re forced to abide by all of the regulatory bodies governing those countries. Compliance and Risk teams are then given the mammoth task of somehow knowing all those rules, keeping up to date on them, and following them — which, for simplicity’s sake, often means universally abiding by the strictest. 

Expect collaboration — but not cohesion — among regulators. While we have seen regulators working together to find and implement technology solutions, don’t expect to see cohesion across their requirements. Even as the marketplace becomes increasingly global, each regulator will have to abide by its own government mandate. After all, they don’t serve the financial institutions they audit but the consumers of their respective jurisdictions. Ultimately, there’s only one way to reconcile the differences between regulatory requirements — via technology.

READ ARTICLE: The Ultimate List of Compliance Conferences and Events

 

What Ascent is Excited about in 2020

Just as 2020 is shaping up to be a big year for RegTech as an industry, it’s looking to be another banner year for Ascent. Here are just a few of the opportunities that have us excited to tackle the new year:

  • We were thrilled to be selected by the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) to pursue a cross-border pilot earlier this year. We believe the opportunity to collaborate directly with regulators could create value for the entire market, helping firms to operate more efficiently and to reduce costs while consumers are better protected. We’re excited to see what the future holds for this initiative.
  • Speaking of excited, we recently raise $19.3 million in our Series B funding round. This investment will empower us to scale and further operationalize our business, and it will be nothing short of fundamental in advancing our mission to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the rule of law. We can’t wait to put the funding to work in the year ahead.

LEARN MORE: Click here to learn about Ascent Solutions

Dec 11
Love1

“But Does RegTech Actually Work?” 3 Ways Financial Firms and RegTechs Can Bridge the Trust Gap

By Blog

(5 min read)

With the right vetting process, it is absolutely possible for you to have confidence in the technological tools you choose to adopt

You’ve just been shown a RegTech demo and the technology is something right out of your dreams. It can save you thousands of man hours, significant amounts of money, and reduce your regulatory risk in the process. There’s no doubt it sounds amazing, you think. But can it actually do all of the things promised?

This is not an uncommon question, representative of the trust gap that currently exists between RegTech companies and the financial institutions they serve. This trust gap is certainly understandable — RegTech offers new technology and skepticism is natural whenever that’s the case. 

Even more importantly, with something as complex and vital as regulatory compliance, financial firms need to be skeptical as they evaluate possible solutions. Consequences for any technological shortcomings can be catastrophic. Why would Compliance and Risk teams take a gamble on something that seems too good to be true?

Because, for one, the opportunities new RegTech ventures present are real and powerful. And for two, because the alternative — not adopting technological solutions — is far worse. 

If the trends of the last decade continue, the regulatory “tax” firms are forced to pay is only going to increase, and the fines for non-compliance will only grow too. That means firms will have to hire more people to take on more work that could have more costly mistakes. Financial institutions will be forced to adopt new technologies as they offer the only viable path forward. 

But Compliance and Risk teams don’t need to feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

With the right vetting process, it is absolutely possible for you to have confidence in the technological tools you choose and to be excited about adopting them. Here are a few strategies we suggest.

1) Educate Stakeholders about the Technology

New technology can often seem like a black box. If you don’t know what’s happening inside that box, it can be difficult to trust that it’s doing what it’s supposed to. But by learning more about how that technology works you can begin to understand it, better evaluate it, and (if it’s the right fit) begin to trust it.

RegTech companies can and should help with this education. At Ascent, for example, our technology helps customers automate regulatory compliance. We do this through our proprietary RegulationAI™ — a “digital brain” that processes and analyzes regulatory text in order to deliver to our customers the regulatory obligations and rule changes that are most relevant to them.  

To help this digital brain not seem like a black box, we educate our customers on how it works. It’s powered by two primary forms of technology: natural language processing (NLP), which helps computers understand human language, and machine learning (ML), which is all about creating models that are designed to learn on their own. 

Once our customers understand how these systems operate together — how, specifically, we use NLP to rapidly analyze millions of lines of regulatory text, which we then feed into our ML models to teach them how to “read” the regulations — they understand how RegulationAI™ is able to deliver up a dynamic obligations register specific to them.

Instead of seeing our technology as a black box, financial institutions can evaluate whether it’s right for them, and our customers can have confidence when using it.

READ ARTICLE: How Ascent Simplifies Regulatory Change Management with Automation

 

2) Pilot a Solution First

A pilot can be a great way to let you dip a toe into new technological waters before taking the deep dive. For day-to-day users, a pilot lets them understand from a hands-on level how the solution will fold into their processes. And for decision-makers it lets them see real results before making a full commitment. 

To run a low-stress, high-outcome pilot, we suggest the following three strategies:

  • Clearly defining the goals of the pilot, so you can accurately determine whether they are met or not;
  • Making sure both decision-makers and day-to-day users are on the same page about how the pilot will work and what to expect from it;
  • Obtaining useful feedback in a systematic way — both throughout the pilot and once it’s been completed.

At Ascent, we offer our customers the opportunity to test drive our solutions with a low-cost, low-risk pilot. Our Customer Success team is fully engaged throughout, making onboarding as simple as possible for your team while still ensuring you gain a clear understanding of all the ways Ascent can help you achieve your goals.  

3) Collaborate with Other Parties

Here at Ascent, we are big believers in collaboration. We think that a developing space like RegTech will only be empowered by interaction and collaboration between all the parties involved. And we believe collaboration can be key in helping financial institutions gain confidence in different RegTech solutions.

Here are a few ways collaboration can help build trust:

  • Financial institutions can reach out to other institutions that are already using new RegTech solutions to help understand how the technology has been beneficial and learn about any potential pain points.
  • Financial institutions can work with consultancies to help evaluate new solutions and implement them efficiently and effectively.
  • RegTech companies can work with financial institutions to make sure their solutions truly meet the needs of those institutions and to provide educational materials to help institutions develop confidence in new technologies.

In fact, regulators themselves are getting in on collaboration too, as evidenced by groups like the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN), an international collection of 35 organizations which serves as a network for regulators to knowledge-share and collaborate on bringing RegTech innovations to bear.

As always, whenever regulators themselves adopt a practice, it’s a good sign that the rest of the market will likely follow suit soon.

READ ARTICLE: Ascent Selected by GFIN for Regulatory Cross-Border Pilot

 

Bridge the Gap with Ascent

At Ascent, our AI-powered solutions help you manage regulatory change with confidence, so you can focus on the high-value activities that matter most, without the constant worry of accidentally missing an important update or keeping records that stand up to regulatory scrutiny.

You don’t have to drown in regulation, and you don’t have to cling to a life raft you don’t have faith in. Find the solution that’s right for you.

LEARN MORE: Click here to learn about Ascent Solutions

 

Modern challenges require modern tools. Interested in seeing how Ascent can help you automate horizon scanning, change management, and obligations management? 

Contact Us


Dec 09
Love1

How Australia is Betting Big on RegTech

By Blog

(4 min read)

The RegTech industry has seen explosive growth in the past few years, and it’s not expected to slow down anytime soon. As the capabilities of technology catch up to the needs of Compliance teams, organizations are beginning to recognize and invest in the substantial opportunities RegTech companies are creating. 

And now governments have started to do the same.

The Australian Senate recently launched a committee to investigate how the Australian RegTech space can prosper. Over the course of the next year, the committee will look into, among other things: 

  • The size and scope of the opportunity for Australian businesses and consumers;
  • Current RegTech practices and ways RegTech solutions can strengthen compliance while reducing costs;
  • Barriers to the adoption of new technologies within the financial sector.

If executed correctly, this could be a huge boon for RegTech companies and — more importantly — for the financial institutions they serve. But it won’t be an easy task. 

Here are a few things to keep in mind as the committee conducts its investigation.

Be Patient, But Not Too Patient

Whenever new technologies are introduced, it can take time to adopt them. The market, the companies that implement new technologies, and the regulators that oversee those companies all need time to understand what those new technologies are capable of and to determine how they should best be applied. 

But the more time that passes, the more momentum is lost and the greater the danger to those new ventures developing new technologies. Because for them, the hurdle of time turns into one of costs.

Here’s where the Australian government has a unique opportunity to help financial institutions. If the government can build an environment that helps RegTech companies with gathering the resources they need to get over this hurdle of time and cost, it will allow RegTech companies to collaborate with financial institutions and create innovative, powerful tools that offer real value to Risk and Compliance teams.

To Err is Human — To Forgive, Divine

Similarly, the application of new technologies also comes with opportunities for lessons learned. If initial hiccups sound the death knell for nascent technologies that are still finding their right path, it will ultimately be to the detriment of Risk and Compliance teams who could have benefited from those technologies.

But if instead the government can foster an environment of forgiveness that allows for mistakes — specifically “smart” mistakes, that is, ones made in a controlled environment and within a system that can learn from them — RegTech ventures will be willing to think big about how to meaningfully reduce risk for consumers and improve compliance. 

READ ARTICLE: How Ascent Simplifies Regulatory Change Management with Automation

 

The Power of Collaboration

“RegTech can be transformative, but collaboration across the ecosystem is key to accelerating adoption.” -Deborah Young, CEO, The RegTech Association

The Select Committee has until October 2020 to collect material and prepare its final report. We hope that they will recognize above all the tremendous opportunity for collaboration that exists right now — between RegTech companies, financial firms, regulators, committees, and others. 

There have already been overtures by companies and regulators to work together to solve the task of achieving compliance, efforts supported by organizations like The RegTech Association (RTA). Headquartered in Australia, RTA encourages widespread collaboration between regulators, regulated entities, RegTech companies, and government.

“Technology has a huge role to play in supporting a robust regulatory environment, supporting efficient compliance and bringing trust to any regulated sector,” Deborah Young, CEO of RTA said. “RegTech can be transformative, but collaboration across the ecosystem is key to accelerating adoption.”

Supporting this collaboration will accelerate the adoption of newer technologies and protect the market from previous abuses and mistakes. Additionally, this kind of collaboration will breed transparency, which will then in turn amplify the collaboration.

READ ARTICLE: Ascent Selected by GFIN (Global Financial Innovation Network) for Regulatory Cross-Border Pilot

 

The Need for RegTech Solutions is Real

Financial services firms are recognizing that it’s time to change the way compliance is achieved, and that technology can help do this. Through the Select Committee, the Australian government has a real opportunity to connect up Compliance teams with innovative technological solutions that can improve their processes, save them significant costs, and reduce their ever-growing workloads.

LEARN MORE: Click here to learn about Ascent Solutions

 

Modern challenges require modern tools. Interested in seeing how Ascent can help you automate horizon scanning, change management, and obligations management? 

Contact Us


Dec 02
Love1

What the Tech? Machine Learning Explained

By Blog

Imagine an alien species flew down through our atmosphere and landed on your front porch. They explain that they have a perfect understanding of our language but absolutely no knowledge of our world, and ask you to answer one burning question: “What is a fish?”

How would you respond? A fish is something that swims in the water, you might say. The aliens run out, grab a small child from the nearest swimming pool, and present him to you. Is this a fish? they ask. You clarify: A fish is something that swims in the water and has fins. The child is returned and a seal is brought instead. Is this a fish? A fish is something that swims in water, has fins, and has gills. A toy shark appears on your doorstep. 

This method of instruction — providing a definition that grows longer and more precise to accommodate an issue’s complexity — can be understood as the traditional way of programming a machine. You write a complex formula that tries to take into consideration all known factors in order to help a machine answer a question or perform a task. It is the equivalent of giving a man a fish and feeding him for one day. Machine learning is teaching a man to fish instead.

Rather than relying on a definition, machine learning uses big, diverse sets of data, which are then used to train an algorithm. When you try to use a definition, no matter how long and complex that definition is, it will likely still have gaps and inaccuracies. But by gathering a very large and diverse set of examples, you can create a much more complete understanding. 

Following the logic of machine learning, instead of trying to define for the aliens what a fish is, you would take them to the nearest aquarium. Look, you would say pointing at one of the tanks, that is a fish. And that too. And that. 

Why machine learning is so powerful

Technology has advanced to the point that algorithms are now able to develop their own rules when determining whether something does or does not meet certain criteria, based on the data sets they are given. When loading a data set into a program, the programmer doesn’t have to say this is a fish and here’s why — she simply has to provide the examples. 

Things like neural networks — layered sets of algorithms designed to recognize patterns — then adjust their weightings and inputs as they “learn” what a fish looks like. The more data fed into the system, the more refined its “definition” becomes. Once the system is trained, it can be given any image and can then determine whether or not it meets the specified criteria.

There are obviously many applications of these technologies (beyond identifying fish) — facial recognition, self-driving cars, weather forecasting. And RegTech companies are now bringing these capabilities to the world of compliance. 

At Ascent, we are using machine learning in combination with other technologies to de-complicate financial regulation, making it easier for Risk and Compliance workers to know exactly which obligations and rule updates are relevant to their business.

Ascent ingests millions of lines of regulatory text and feeds them into our machine learning models, parsing and analyzing the data far faster and with greater accuracy than people could alone. 

The result is a register of obligations that are targeted to you and always updated as rules change.

READ ARTICLE: How Ascent Simplifies Regulatory Change Management with Automation

 

The power of automation for compliance

Great technology augments your team. With Ascent, Risk and Compliance teams can focus on the high-value activities that matter most, without the constant worry of accidentally missing an important update or keeping records that will stand up to regulator scrutiny.

 

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Ascent helps financial services firms identify their regulatory obligations and keep them updated as rules change. Our targeted regulatory intelligence helps you avoid fines and reduce risk, while lowering your overall cost to comply. Learn more.

Nov 26
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Ascent Named to the Prestigious RegTech 100 List for the Second Consecutive Year

By Blog

“This is a fantastic honor and we’re especially excited to be making a repeat appearance on this list.” —Jeff Heine, Chief Revenue Officer, Ascent

Ascent, an AI-driven solution that helps customers automate regulatory compliance, is today celebrating the news that the firm has been named to the prestigious RegTech 100 list for the second consecutive year.

Overseen by RegTech Analyst, a specialist research firm, the RegTech 100 recognizes those firms making the most innovative use of technology to solve a significant problem for the financial services industry and/or generating cost savings or efficiency improvements across the compliance function.

Ascent’s proprietary RegulationAI™ processes and analyses regulatory text, delivering the regulatory obligations and rule changes that are most relevant to the customer. By doing automatically what takes individual Compliance Officers, consultants, and lawyers hundreds of hours to accomplish manually, Ascent frees customers from tedious manual tasks so they can focus on higher-value activities.

“This is a fantastic honor and we’re especially excited to be making a repeat appearance on this list of the most innovative names in the RegTech business,” said Jeff Heine, Chief Revenue Officer with Ascent. “Large financial institutions are finding themselves under increasing regulatory pressure due to the increase in volume of new regulations and on-going changes, all while the regulations themselves seem to be shifting constantly. Our technology not only helps solve for these pain points but gives firms a competitive advantage, freeing up resources that can be put to work on other critical compliance functions that drive impact for the business.”

“Ascent stood out . . . for its innovative use of AI and the growing global scope of the regulatory bodies it helps clients track and manage.” —Mariyan Dimitrov, Head of Research, RegTech Analyst

“Ascent stood out to the analysts and industry experts on our advisory board for its innovative use of AI and the growing global scope of the regulatory bodies it helps clients track and manage,” said Mariyan Dimitrov, head of research at RegTech Analyst.

Built using sophisticated machine learning and natural language processing technologies, Ascent’s groundbreaking solution helps businesses mitigate their regulatory and reputational risk while often obtaining seven and eight figure compliance savings for its customers.

In addition to this award, Ascent also recently announced that it had closed a successful Series B funding round of $19.3 million.

To learn more about Ascent or to request an interview, please reach out to Rachael Battista at rachael@ascentregtech.com.

Nov 04
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Ascent Raises $19.3 Million in Series B Funding Round to Expand Compliance Automation Solution

By Blog

“We’re excited to advance Ascent’s mission to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the rule of law.” —Brian Clark, Founder and CEO, Ascent

Ascent, an AI-driven solution that helps customers automate regulatory compliance, announced today the closing of its Series B funding round of $19.3 million. The round was led by Drive Capital and includes investments from global banks ING and Wells Fargo, Series A investor lead Alsop Louie, and Series A participant The University of Chicago. Now entering its fourth year of operations, Ascent will use this round to fuel the continued growth of its team, product, and brand awareness in the financial compliance space.

“Keeping up with regulation is mission-critical for businesses,” said Brian Clark, Founder and CEO of Ascent. “While digital transformation of the enterprise is happening everywhere, compliance has been largely left behind, which is unthinkable considering the risk involved in compliance work. We are thrilled to partner with our Series B investors to help customers achieve certainty in their compliance operations, and we’re excited to advance Ascent’s mission to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the rule of law.”

Ascent’s proprietary RegulationAI™ processes and analyses regulatory text, doing automatically what takes individual Compliance Officers, consultants, and lawyers hundreds of hours to accomplish manually. 

By delivering customers actual regulatory knowledge in the form of a dynamic obligations register—in other words, the obligations and regulatory changes that apply specifically to their business—Ascent dramatically reduces the mundane and error-prone manual efforts of regulatory research and analysis that permeate the industry today. 

Ascent is actively exploring partnerships with government, risk management, and compliance (GRC) solutions with the ultimate goal of helping its customers achieve end-to-end compliance.

“The ‘RegTech boom’ of the past few years is evidence of the pressing need for innovation in not only financial services, but in every regulated industry.” —Andy Jenks, Partner, Drive Capital

“The ‘RegTech boom’ of the past few years is evidence of the pressing need for innovation in not only financial services, but in every regulated industry,” said Andy Jenks, Partner at Drive Capital. “We’re proud to support the Ascent team as they enhance their solutions and continue pioneering in an industry hungry for progress.”

Built using sophisticated machine learning and natural language processing technologies, Ascent’s groundbreaking solution helps businesses mitigate their regulatory and reputational risk while often obtaining seven and eight figure compliance savings for its customers.

“ING is keen to support innovative and visionary firms, such as Ascent, which will play an essential role in shaping the industry’s future.” —Benoit Legrand, CEO of ING Ventures and Chief Innovation Officer, ING

Benoit Legrand, CEO of ING Ventures and Chief Innovation Officer of ING says: “As the regulatory environment becomes increasingly demanding, so is the pressure on firms to remain compliant. In order to keep up with this ever-changing landscape and help relieve the mounting strain on resources, the financial services sector is continuously looking for more automated, intelligent and cost-effective ways to manage compliance. ING is keen to support innovative and visionary firms, such as Ascent, which will play an essential role in shaping the industry’s future.”

Ascent announced last month that major U.K. regulations – namely the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) — are now available on the Ascent platform, accelerating the company’s expansion into the U.K. market. Ascent is currently engaged with the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) in a cross-border pilot that seeks to analyse the similarities and differences of a firm’s obligations across jurisdictions. With a rapidly growing team based in Chicago, Ascent serves major financial institutions around the world, including in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Asia. 

To learn more about Ascent or to request an interview, please reach out to Vanessa Yeh at vanessa@ascentregtech.com.

Oct 12
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Ascent’s Got You Covered in the United Kingdom

By Blog

Three new U.K. Regulators are now supported in Ascent’s compliance management platform: the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and London Clearing House (LCH), specifically LCH SA & LCH Ltd. 

Using proprietary Regulation AI™, Ascent dynamically generates the regulatory obligations and ongoing rule updates that apply specifically to each customer, saving businesses significant time and money in analysing regulation manually. For every regulation in the Ascent system, customers have access to their unique Obligations Register which is specific to their business and is automatically generated by Ascent. Also included are the regulatory rulebooks and other regulator documents including press releases, guidance, enforcement actions and more — all of which are searchable by keyword. 

The most recent additions to Ascent are:

  • Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

The FCA is a UK regulatory body that is independent from the UK Government, but is accountable to Her Majesty’s Treasury and Parliament. The FCA regulates banks, mutual societies, financial firms, and individual financial advisors, with the power to withdraw registration, to prohibit firms and individuals from participating in regulated activities, to suspend entities, to apply for legal remedies, and to issue warnings and/or bring criminal prosecutions against firms in breach of the FCA’s policies. Ascent launched an official collaboration with the FCA in late 2018 to componentize the FCA Handbooks. This release is the official fulfillment and delivery of that collaborative project. 

  • Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)

Operating jointly with the FCA, the PRA is the prudential regulator of approximately 1,500 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers, and major investment firms. The PRA works to promote the safety and soundness of firms they regulate, to contribute to securing an appropriate degree of protection for insurance policyholders, and to facilitate effective market competition. 

  • London Clearing House (LCH) — LCH SA and LCH Ltd.

LCH is a British clearing house that serves international exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives, acting as a central counterparty that provides risk management services to Clearing Members. LCH members include financial groups like investment banks, broker-dealers, and international commodity houses. LCH is overseen by the national securities regulator and/or central bank in each jurisdiction from which it operates. With this release, the Rulebooks for LCH SA (the France-registered clearing house) and LCH Ltd. (the UK-registered clearing house) are now available in Ascent.

 

To learn more, request a meeting with our Sales team below.