Advantages of An Entity Management System

Those important folks within an organization that handle compliance, governance and legal operations matters are often some of the busiest and most-interrupted people in the business. Not only do they ensure the organization remains in good standing and can continue to operate legally by keeping it compliant with regulations, they must also field constant questions about the corporate record, fetching files and running reports for others around the business.

When this work is being done manually, or via a platform that is not built specifically as an entity management system, it adds inefficiency to the compliance burden of the legal operations team. The advantages of an entity management system - one tailor-made for the purpose - are numerous, and a system like this can have a major impact on business operations and compliance. Let's take a look at the advantages of working with an entity management system, and how software can help those pressed-upon team members to get more time to think.

Six advantages of working with an entity management system

1 Get time for more strategic thinking

All of those requests for reports - and the running of the reports themselves - not only take time and effort, they also take the entity manager away from doing their day to day work of managing entities. This can result in compliance and governance being very reactive, which can then lead to mistakes and issues cropping up that could have been identified if processes were more efficient. One of the big advantages of an entity management system is efficiency gains - file and report more quickly, automate elements of workflows and use notifications and calendars to prompt stakeholders to take action. This gives the entity manager more time to be proactive about governance and compliance, instead of running two steps behind.

2 Cultivate better quality entity data

When entity data is stored in a central repository, in a highly secure place in the cloud, the integrity of that data is protected. There is less risk of human error or duplication being introduced to the corporate record, and that means the entity data accessed for reports is accurate, up-to-date and of higher quality than manually manipulated data. In turn, better quality entity data means less risk of non-compliance, and makes audits more efficient and seamless.

3 Ensure compliance for each entity and jurisdiction

This advantage of an entity management system seems so obvious, but it's still important to call-out: compliance workflows become more efficient and more streamlined, with the end of the process including automated filings to local regulators (those who allow electronic filing, at least) as required. By automating filing based on the better quality entity data and the more accurate corporate record, legal operations teams and compliance managers can help to ensure compliance for each entity without scrambling for details located across multiple systems.

4 Manage entity risk

In turn, this central repository for the corporate record, and these automated filings and more efficient processes, each help an organization to manage entity risk. Those in charge of risk management across the organization have access to real-time data, and notifications alert stakeholders when it's their turn in the workflow. A compliance calendar can highlight when filings are due, and a dedicated dashboard can take those notifications and calendars and show a simple RAG status to bring risk issues to the forefront.

5 Make the corporate record more accessible

When talking about the advantages of an entity management system, accessibility is right up there. An entity management system helps you to get the right information to the right people at the right time in a format that works for them; a cloud-based entity management system takes it one step further as it's not tied to the corporate network, which means any stakeholder can be given access, even for a limited time, to any data they may need to view or document for sign-off. This is a huge advantage of an entity management system over, say, a filing cabinet or a Sharepoint system, and saves the Head of IT from needing to set up secure corporate accounts for outside stakeholders.

6 Create a single source of truth

All of these advantages of an entity management system would be nothing without this final one: creating a single source of truth for all entity-related data. Each of the advantages we've highlighted could arguably be handled elsewhere, but that introduces greater risk to entity management as corrupt data, missed filings and cybersecurity issues become par for the course. A single source of truth means that everyone involved in entity management, from the compliance team through to the Board and external stakeholders, are all viewing the same entity data from the same source. This in turn enables the right people to access the right information at the right time, and helps to ensure compliance across any and all entities under management. A single source of truth breaks down information silos, ensures scalability, enables innovation, and gets decision-makers what they need.

The Benefits of Using the Right Entity Management System

Of course, the advantages of an entity management system only go so far if you procure technology that isn't built for your particular needs. There are a lot of technology solutions that claim to support entity management but do it as part of a wider group of solutions, sometimes even retrofitting older technology for entity management needs.

The benefits of using the right entity management system, though, are worth considering. When you choose an entity management system that is expert in entity management - that is built for that specific purpose and nothing else - you're choosing technology that can increase efficiency without the need for massive investment in bespoke add-ons or widgets.

Diligent Entities is one such entity management system. Built specifically to help compliance and governance managers and legal operations teams to centralize, manage and effectively structure their corporate record, the advantages of this entity management system are numerous:

• Store entity information such as documents, contracts and organizational charts in a highly secure format
• Create reports for governance and compliance requirements for internal reporting
• Electronically file statutory forms into global regulatory bodies directly from the entity management system
• Use compliance calendars, reminders and workflows to manage the ongoing accuracy of the corporate record and generate better quality entity data
• Integrate with the board portal and secure document sharing platform to create a seamless, highly secure central repository for the corporate record

Get in touch and schedule a demo to see how Diligent Entities can help you to create a single source of truth for your organization, and hear more about the advantages of an entity management system in your specific circumstances.