Dodd-Frank One Year Later: Protiviti Unveils New Tools to Help Organizations Address Critical Questions in an Uncertain Regulatory Environment

MENLO PARK, Calif., July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- At the one-year milestone of the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act, Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) a global consulting and internal audit firm has launched a suite of resources for organizations struggling to understand and respond to the law's still evolving requirements. Based on feedback from clients and insights from industry leaders and regulators, the firm is offering a new online diagnostic tool and regulatory intelligence software, as well as thought leadership, designed to ease Dodd-Frank compliance confusion.

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"It was clear from the outset that we would not know how all of the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act would be implemented by now given their complexity," said Carol Beaumier, a Protiviti executive vice president and leader of the firm's Regulatory practice. "Organizations know these regulations are looming, but the timing and scope of many provisions remain unclear. The uncertainty has left some institutions immobilized and others trying their best to move forward based on educated guesses. Protiviti's new Dodd-Frank resources are designed to eliminate some of that uncertainty by delivering up-to-date intelligence and tools for developing a smart compliance strategy."

Protiviti's new Dodd-Frank offerings include:

• The Protiviti Dodd-Frank Diagnostic Tool This complimentary online tool (www.protiviti.com/DoddFrankDiagnostic) enables banks, broker-dealers and mortgage companies to identify quickly the components of Dodd-Frank that are most relevant to their business. Protiviti's tool offers a high-level overview of the key areas of concern based upon the services a company provides, its asset size, company holding structure, and the regulatory agency of concern. Protiviti plans to expand its proprietary Dodd-Frank Diagnostic Tool in the future to address other types of financial services companies.
• The Governance Portal for Regulatory Reform Protiviti and law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP have teamed to enhance Protiviti's Governance Portal, a governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software solution, with the addition of Morrison & Foerster's proprietary FrankNDodd database system. The joint offering provides companies with a solution that combines compliance and governance technology with real-time Dodd-Frank Act-related information and guidance. The Governance Portal for Regulatory Reform (www.protiviti.com/GovPortalRegReform) is designed to help organizations determine the status of regulatory developments and changes; assess regulatory risk; assign accountability and track status of implementation efforts; monitor and evidence compliance; and demonstrate risk management practices to regulators, customers and other stakeholders.
• New Insights - A special edition of Protiviti's FS Insights publication, There Are More Questions Than Answers, www.protiviti.com/FSInsights offers a look at what is behind the delays, changing views and differences of opinions around the Dodd-Frank Act.

"By offering these resources, we hope that those companies that may be tempted to wait until final rules are issued will begin the implementation process sooner rather than later," Beaumier said. "Failure to address the regulatory reform challenge proactively exposes companies to noncompliance and increased cost, and most importantly, loss of market share to more proactive competitors."

Webinar to Explore Dodd-Frank Act Implications

On August 4 Protiviti will conduct a webinar titled, "Beyond Dodd-Frank Compliance: How leading companies are looking beyond Dodd-Frank to transform their risk management practices." Subject-matter experts from Protiviti's Financial Services and Risk and Compliance practices will provide a brief overview of how the Dodd-Frank Act tries to address risk management and then delve into the ways that leading financial services organizations are looking beyond Dodd-Frank to implement robust risk management programs, which ultimately may be the best protection the industry has in preventing another crisis. The complimentary webinar will take place at 10:00 am PDT. To register for the event, please visit: www.protiviti.com/webinars.

About Protiviti

Protiviti is a global business consulting and internal audit firm composed of experts specializing in risk, advisory and transaction services. The firm helps solve problems in finance and transactions, operations, technology, litigation, governance, risk, and compliance. Protiviti's highly trained, results-oriented professionals provide a unique perspective on a wide range of critical business issues for clients in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

Protiviti has more than 60 locations worldwide and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half International is a member of the S&P 500 index.

Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services.

FrankNDodd is a trademark of Morrison Foerster LLP

SOURCE Protiviti