Workflow
ComplyPlus ships with a workflow engine complete with all the bells and whistles.  However, if you prefer another workflow system, ComplyPlus was designed to be compatible.  Work items and drill-down reports can be generated in a variety of formats, including HTML, PDF, Word, etc, that most paper based 3rd party workflow systems use.  ComplyPlus' open architecture easily allows work items to be generated and sent to external workflow systems or attached to a trade ticket's audit trail. 

ComplyPlus' integrated workflow system facilitates the order management process by providing real-time communication between management, portfolio managers, traders and compliance staff.  A complete history of workflow routing and communication between the parties is preserved.  Expensive violations can be detected and resolved pre-trade by our real-time capability for fund managers and traders to view and address "What-if" compliance checks.  And, faster execution is provided for those trades that require compliance department approval.

In short, ComplyPlus' workflow provides a formal process of review, approval, rejection, escalation and audit of trade activity between the relevant parties which prevents costly reversed trades.  The result is faster, better and more cost effective order management.

Workflow Customization
The workflow system supports a high level of customization.  Customization can be done at a variety of levels.  For instance, the workflow system can group compliance violations based on the associated rule or by the attached object, routing the violation to different departments or individuals for resolution.  An example of this type of customization would allow violations for one group of funds to be routed to the department responsible for those funds.  This is particularly useful when you have different compliance staff managing different kinds of funds.  An example is when one group manages fixed income, another manages equities, and a third watches over international.  Another workflow customization might be to route to different staff members depending on the rule and area of law involved.  Send all your money market related rule violations to your staff's 2a-7 expert.  How you route and approve work items is also configurable.  Some violations might be able to be closed by more junior staff and other violations might require higher levels of approval.

Another level of customization concerns how work items are grouped together.  ComplyPlus allows groups of work items to be considered a single unit called a task.  Work items in a single task can be assigned to multiple users and work queues.  This allows a single trade violation to generate multiple work items to speed along the execution of the trade.  An example would be a trade that triggers three rule violations.  Each violation can be assigned to a separate staff member for review.  This allows resources to work in parallel to solve the problem quickly.

A single rule can generate multiple work items and many rules can generate separate work items for a single task.  An example might be that all data quality work items found for one day are grouped into a single task.  Work items in tasks can be configured to be worked on sequentially or in parallel.  When setup sequentially, only one work item is shown in workflow at a time and the next work item cannot be worked on until the previous work item is completed.  Work items setup in parallel are immediately assigned.  The task will not be considered complete until all the work items have been reviewed.  How you relate and group work items is part of the rule definition process.

Microsoft BizTalk Server^TM
One method of workflow routing and customization is achieved by using Microsoft's BizTalk Server product.  ComplyPlus ships with BizTalk compatible adapters and sample BizTalk schedules for easy integration.  BizTalk allows the workflow system to be designed in Microsoft's Visio diagramming tool.  BizTalk then compiles the Visio diagram into a BizTalk schedule which controls the workflow process.  

ComplyPlus Compliance Blotter and Workflow
Workflow is available in a variety of platforms: web based (thin client), Windows based (thick client) and Pocket PC based.  The Compliance Blotter is a thick client application available for the Microsoft Windows platform.  The compliance blotter extends the trade blotter to the compliance department for pre-trade compliance.  Like most blotters, it displays real-time, current information and allows violations to be worked by the compliance staff.  The compliance blotter is usually installed on compliance staff's desktop and at each trading desk.

ComplyPlus Web Workflow
The workflow module is available as a zero footprint, browser based, thin-client application.  The application does not require any desktop installation and is appropriate for staff outside the compliance department.  Users such as traders, fund managers, and others can be supported without having to install anything onto their computers.

ComplyPlus PocketPC Workflow
The Pocket PC version supports most of the features in the Windows version of ComplyPlus.  In addition, the Pocket PC version supports two modes of operation: online and offline.  In online mode, a PDA with a network connection (such as a wireless 802.11 card) can be used for real-time compliance support.  Even while in meetings, a compliance manager can review and approve items as they happen during the day without hampering trading operations.

Offline mode allows a list of pending work items to be downloaded to the PDA and reviewed, edited and approved while disconnected from the corporate network.  At the end of the day, a compliance manager can download their compliance issues to a PDA and work while on the road.  When they get back to the office, the software re-integrates the changes made on the PDA with the original copy at the office.

Workflow Rules and Work Item Monitoring
Rule templates are provided for the creation of rules that control and monitor work items in workflow.  Common workflow rules are rules that watch "cure" periods.  For example, it's quarter end and you have a violation that has 30 days to cure.  It's not a crisis yet!  Nothing happens to close the work item for three weeks.  A workflow rule catches the inaction, increases the priority of the existing work item and sends an email to the compliance manger to take action.

• Workflow Rules insure work items don't fall thru the cracks
• Reports show show daily work item activity and unresolved work items
• Work item aging reports highlight missed items before the cure period ends

Work Item Design
Part of rule definition is work item design.  When a rule triggers an alert or warning, it shows up in workflow.  ComplyPlus allows you to define how you want it to look in workflow.  Each rule works with different data elements, so you can design different workflow screens to match.  ComplyPlus provides default templates, but you can change them to meet your needs.  In fact, you can design multiple screens for each rule to match the users who will see each work item in workflow.  How a trader sees a work item might be different from how compliance staff sees the same work item; the compliance staff's screen might have information not shown to the trader (or vice-versa).

Work items are designed by choosing "bubbles" and ordering them on the page.  Several sample bubbles that ship with ComplyPlus are shown below.

  Rule Information Work Item Bubble

  Trade/Security Work Item Bubble

   Account Work Item Bubble

  Sector Concentration Work Item Bubble

A wide variety of work item bubbles are available to be mixed and matched.  Creation of new bubbles is also possible by your IT staff.  A finished work item is shown below in a browser.

The blue tabs across the top labeled "Problem", "Response", "History", "Report" and "Event" provide access to additional information about the work item.  Bubbles are placed on the problem tab.  The responses screen (not shown) provides a way to take action on the work item.  The history tab (also not shown) allows you to see all the previous actions taken on this work item including previous routing history and comments made by users.  The report tab (not shown) shows the drill-down data that associated with this work item.  The event tab describes the execution of rule, i.e. when it ran, other rules that ran at the same event and their outcomes.  The last tab, the "Docs" tab, allows access to documents saved as part of this work item or attached to the rule definition.

The ComplyPlus workflow system provides a familiar interface for users who have used Microsoft's email product Outlook.  ComplyPlus provides one line summaries for each work item.  Powerful ways to sort and filter work items in work queues are provided.  Sort by priority, percent complete, department, user, rule, portfolio or any other exposed data item.  Then simply click on the item to see the work item detail screen as shown above.