MEmber Spotlight - Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN)

Meet Robert Wilson, SVP, Global Investment Companies Canada, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN)

Tell us a little about your organization and why you got into this space?
 DFIN is a leading global risk and compliance company with the objective of helping our clients make smarter decisions with insightful technology, industry expertise and data insights at every stage of their business and investment lifecycles.
 
We entered the regulatory space in response to the growing demand of the investment companies market, which aligned very closely with our knowledge and expertise, and our ability to support clients globally.

​Who are your clients and what types of regulatory challenges are they facing?
 
We support investment companies of all types; specifically, asset managers, mutual fund companies, third-party administrators and banks.
 
Broadly speaking, many clients are facing the challenge of digitisation and the shift towards regulations that demand greater investor transparency and access. The recent AODA regulation in Canada is one such example.
 
We also see common client challenges in regulatory report automation as a result of the sourcing and normalising of data. Once data is sourced and normalised, we are adept at driving efficiency through our Arc Suite of software applications, which are geared towards ensuring regulatory compliance. 

 
What type of emerging technology do you think will have the greatest impact on your business/industry?
 We believe that the concept of a Regulatory Book of Record (RBOR), which is intended to form the backbone for all regulatory report data points, will become an industry norm and will be hugely impactful for our clients and for the industry as a whole.
 
For clients who work with DFIN across multiple report types and/or use multiple applications within our Arc Suite platform, there is, of course, the added benefit of the reuse and sharing of data. 
 
As our technologies evolve, it is our vision that RBOR will lead to global efficiency through the use of a single global platform that has the flexibility to serve the nuances of local markets and local market regulations. 

 Why did you join the CRTA? How do you think the CRTA will help your business (industry)?
 DFIN understands there is a need for helping our global clients traverse the complex RegTech landscape. Partnering with the CRTA will help facilitate our conversations with our clients through thought leadership initiatives and collaboration. It also affords us the opportunity to learn more about the regulatory challenges that may be specific to the Canadian market and how DFIN can help.