Apps Automate Law Compliance

IT managers are getting more tools to help gather data and create reports that show their companies are complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley law.

HandySoft Corp., for instance, this week will announce BizFlow Solution for Sarbanes-Oxley, a subset of the companys BizFlow workflow software designed to simplify Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 audit procedures.

The Web-based application automates the collection of data with secure forms, and prebuilt workflows lay out procedures for keeping an eye on sales, distribution and other business issues that could have a material impact on a companys finances.

The software provides integration with popular document management systems that enable real-time monitoring and reporting of results outlined in the defined business process workflows, according to HandySoft officials, in Vienna, Va.

In the same vein, Logical Apps Inc. last week introduced an upgrade to its AppsRules business process management software and a new module, called AppsFlow, that together are designed to be used for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. AppsFlow provides a metadata layer on top of Oracle Corp.s namesake enterprise applications.

"It is easy to model a workflow with drag-and-drop tools, but that process doesnt do anything without someone hardwiring the workflow into the [application] processes," said Logical Apps CEO Chris Capdevila, in Irvine, Calif.

"Our process rule layer ... generates the code [connecting the workflow design to the application processes] on the fly at run-time—some engines generate code in a one-time fashion," Capdevila said.

AppsFlow provides a library of preconfigured workflows for four common business processes—item configuration, customer configuration, financial close and change order processing.

Separately, Documentum Inc., of Pleasanton, Calif., last week announced Corporate Governance and Compliance Solution, which combines the companys existing technologies for content and document management, records management, and collaboration and adds six new templates that Documentum developed in combination with professional services company BearingPoint Inc.