Austin, Texas-based Compliance Spectrum, a relative newcomer to the financial reporting arena, has added a risk component and real-time reporting functions to its Spectra automated compliance on-demand solution. The new risk assessment and analysis capabilities give finance executives, auditors and compliance officers a tool to identify, assess and manage the most critical risks and estimate the costs of mitigating those risks, explains Colleen Murphy, Compliance Spectrum vice president of development. "These advanced risk management and reporting features allow customers to integrate risk management into their compliance and governance lifecycle programs," Murphy says.

A software as a service (SaaS) solution that is licensed for a subscription fee, the Spectra tool calculates a "risk rating" based on potential business impact, probability of occurrence and estimated cost to remedy. Risk levels are tracked over time and incorporated into Spectra's policy, audit and task management capabilities and real-time dashboards. Any number of regulatory components can be factored into the software, so companies can monitor for compliance with such regulations as Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II and IRS rules during an internal audit as well as ensure that transactions comply with internal policies and risk tolerances. New OLAP analytics capability allows drill-down and ad-hoc analysis of objectives and controls with respect to risk, says Murphy.