The search for a comprehensive technology solution that reduces governance and compliance burdens and transforms those tasks into business value has, at times, been likened to the search for the Holy Grail. But that effort may have taken a giant step forward with the release by San Jose, Calif.-based Movaris Inc. of Movaris Unity, an expansion of its OneClose suite that integrates a governance, risk and compliance (GRC) module with its financial close software. The new solution can be applied to a wide range of GRC standards beyond Sarbanes-Oxley, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) compliance. "In our world, a control is a control is a control–whether you are dealing with a SOX control, a control for HIPAA, a control for FERC certification or a control for your revenue," says Joe Nicholson, Movaris' vice president of marketing.

At the heart of the expanded solution is a process-centric, workflow-based approach that Movaris customers use in the OneClose suite. That approach–along with the Movaris Control Management Framework–allows for the central creation, scoping, scheduling, management, sequencing and reporting of GRC controls across an organization. It then links those controls directly to performance measures such as inventory or supply-chain management. A key element in Movaris Unity is its central repository. "Unless there is a single system of record, you end up with what you have today, which is a disjointed, disconnected effort that is doing duplicative work," says Nicholson.

The GRC module also allows companies to provide external auditors with an audit trail to certify the testing and performance of its controls and adherence to government standards. Says Nicholson: "We're trying to turn compliance into a benefit for organizations, rather than a burden." Movaris Unity includes Movaris GRC, Financial Close, Account Reconciliation and SOX Compliance and, like Movaris OneClose, is Web-based.