The human factor [IT system]
Information Professional · 2004
IT systems cannot do it all and the financial sector has found out the hard way how dealing with mis-selling and fraud need a combination of automation and the skills that people have. The deregulation of financial services around the world has allowed financial-services companies into new markets. But they are watched in many different ways and have installed internal systems that themselves watch and record the deals salespeople make, how their traders perform and what transactions the customers make. Compliance in the different markets is the main risk in the business competence. Companies have adopted technologies such as business-rules engines to keep on top of the different compliance regimes. However, automation cannot do everything, especially when it comes to dealing with people who bends the rules to make a sale, or dealing with fraudsters. Cases such as the mis-selling of remortgage income drawdown policies to pensioners have demonstrated that there are limits to the ability of IT systems to trap misbehaviour by employees and contractors through to criminals attempting to defraud insurers, banks and government agencies.