Whether it is shaking up old habits, adopting new groundbreaking technology or moving offices, this year’s mantra seemed to have been ‘out with the old, in with the new’. Take a look back at Confluence’s top three blogs of the year and consider how change impacted your world as well.

1.  Culture Change in Fund Administration—Time to put away the red pen

Gary Casagrande looked back at his debut in fund accounting some twenty years ago where most tasks were performed manually and compared it to where the back office is today. A lot has changed in 20 years and most tasks are fairly automated now except for one area that remains dominated by human intervention–the review process.

The need for more sophistication in fund reporting is putting tremendous pressure on the industry and, as a result, firms are finally looking to not only enhance the automated production of financial statements, but to automate their review. And to achieve this, a deep cultural change is needed.

2.  2017 or the Rise of RegTech

Back in January, Todd Moyer explained how 2017 was the year for RegTech, writing that the adoption of RegTech and the promise of efficiency that it brings was just the beginning of an industry-wide journey to revolutionize how it does business. Firms that actively embrace this shift position themselves for long-term growth and success. Those that do not will risk being increasingly marginalized as changing investor expectations render old models of doing business obsolete.

3.  Who Moved My Spreadsheet, Cubicle—or Whatever?

This summer I had the opportunity to reflect on Confluence’s June office move that sparked some big changes for employees working at the Pittsburgh headquarters. When change happens and disrupts daily routines, it’s human nature for some to stress out and complain, preferring to cling to old, familiar ways. The anxiety triggered by moving to a new environment runs parallel to that of any firm dealing with big changes. One can only imagine what asset management and service providers are experiencing as their traditional way of doing business is disrupted by new technology introduced into their ecosystem.

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