In previous CIO Insight studies on compliance and Sarbanes-Oxley, getting and staying compliant was seen as something to achieve in the future. But in our new survey, many more respondents say they have achieved full compliance with the regulations we’ve most closely tracked: the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the USA Patriot Act and Gramm-Leach Bliley Act.
But has compliance spending peaked? It’s not yet clear. While there are some signs spending will soon begin to wane, other data suggests spending will increase at many companies. Compliance-related spending on IT auditing and consulting, and security and document management technologies seems especially strong.
Story Guide:
- Finding 1: Many more companies report full compliance with recent regulations than did last year.
- Finding 2: It’s not yet clear whether compliance spending has peaked.
- Finding 3: Compliance is driving spending on consulting, security and document management.
- Finding 4: Regulations appear to be achieving what the government intended.
- Finding 5: Despite low expectations, companies have received business benefits from Sarbanes compliance.
- Finding 6: Compliance goes more smoothly when a holistic approach is taken.
Read our previous surveys on compliance: - Compliance 2005: Is Automating Compliance a Waste of Money?
- Sarbanes-Oxley 2004: Are You Ready to Comply?
Next page: Many more companies report full compliance with recent regulations than did last year.