There’s a quiet moment that most finance leaders know all too well.
It happens right after the quarter closes; the board is waiting for numbers, the auditors are in the loop, and the CFO is staring at yet another version of the same report. The data is right, but something still feels wrong. The process feels heavier than it should.
That moment of hesitation, that silent question, ‘why does this still take so much time?’ is where transformation begins. In today’s finance world, compliance feels like an endless treadmill. Each quarter brings new rules, new formats, and another round of reports to prepare. Yet, beyond the spreadsheets and sleepless nights, a quiet transformation is taking shape.
In the latest episode of RegTech Talks by IRIS CARBON®, Aakanksha Swaminathan explored how disclosure management is changing this very experience. She described it not as another software layer, but as the structural core that keeps every aspect of financial reporting connected and coherent like the central nervous system of modern finance.
We Don’t Buy Tools. We Buy Outcomes.
Aakanksha began by reframing how organizations perceive technology.
When you buy a gym membership, you’re not paying for the weights or the trainer, you’re investing in who you will become, stronger, fitter, more confident.
Technology investments in finance work the same way. Leaders don’t buy tools for their features; they invest in the outcomes they promise consistency, accuracy, and confidence in every number reported.
However, even the most advanced tools often fail to deliver because they’re not implemented with people in mind.
In many organizations, systems are chosen first, and teams are then expected to adapt. That approach often leads to resistance, complexity, and inefficiency. The real transformation happens when technology aligns with how finance teams already operate, not when it forces them to work differently.
It’s not the technology that fails, it’s how it’s implemented.
Aakanksha Swaminathan
Functional Specialist, IRIS CARBON®
Technology Should Fit the World of Finance
At IRIS CARBON®, we believe that finance technology should simplify work, not redesign it. Disclosure management embodies that belief. It integrates seamlessly with tools finance professionals already know like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint while bringing structure, collaboration, and control to the reporting process.
Instead of switching between disconnected files and versions, teams can now collaborate within a single, connected workspace. Every edit, comment, and approval is captured in real time, ensuring that everyone works from the same source of truth.
The result is not just efficiency. It’s clarity, a reporting process that runs smoothly, predictably, and with confidence.
The Central Nervous System of Reporting
Aakanksha compared disclosure management to the central nervous system of the human body, an analogy that captures its importance.
The brain represents the organization’s data and logic, the neurons are the processes and systems that carry information across teams, and the body is the network of finance professionals, auditors, and designers who act on that information.
Disclosure management is not an isolated app, it’s the central nervous system of reporting, built on clean data and connected pieces.
Aakanksha Swaminathan
Functional Specialist, IRIS CARBON®
Just as the human body functions best when its systems are in sync, finance teams perform at their highest level when their data, processes, and reports are connected. Disclosure management ensures that every change in data flows instantly across every output maintaining integrity and alignment at every stage.
The True Weight of Compliance
Regulatory reporting is a complex and resource-intensive task. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, companies spend around 180 hours preparing a quarterly report and more than 2,200 hours producing an annual report. Multiply that effort across multiple jurisdictions, languages, and formats, and the cost of compliance becomes enormous.
The visible costs are in time and data management. The invisible ones lie in human capital, fatigue, rework, and the loss of time that could be spent on forward-looking analysis.
Disclosure management addresses both sides of that equation. It reduces manual effort, eliminates repetitive work, and allows finance teams to focus on higher-value activities.
From Fragmentation to Focus
Finance teams using disclosure management experience a tangible shift from reactive to proactive work. Clients who once managed dozens of files now work from a single source of truth. Live data linkages ensure that when a consolidation number changes, every connected section of the report updates automatically. Built-in validation checks catch inconsistencies before submission.
Every approval, comment, and review is recorded within the platform, creating a transparent audit trail and reducing dependency on lengthy email chains.
A disclosure management system adapts to the way your teams work, not the other way around.
Aakanksha Swaminathan
Functional Specialist, IRIS CARBON®
The impact is measurable:
- Up to 90% fewer reporting errors
- 30% shorter reporting cycles
- 40% increase in efficiency
But the real value lies in focus. Teams that once spent days reconciling data now have the space to analyze it.
Automation and AI: From Efficiency to Intelligence
The future of finance lies in combining automation with intelligence. Disclosure management already incorporates this shift, using AI and automation to bring speed and insight to every stage of reporting.
IRIS CARBON®’s platform features:
- AI-powered auto-tagging that completes an entire XBRL file in seconds.
- Auto-generated narratives that transform financial tables into professional commentary in a secure environment.
- Automated design workflows that deliver investor-ready reports without repeated manual formatting.
These innovations aren’t about replacing human judgments. They’re freeing finance professionals from operational clutter, so they can focus on interpretation, storytelling, and strategy.
Clean Data. Connected People. Confident Reporting.
Disclosure management transforms how teams collaborate. Finance, audit, and compliance professionals work within the same environment, connected by live data flows. Any update in a source file reflects across every linked report instantly.
Dashboards track progress, highlight bottlenecks, and make accountability visible. For CFOs, this means a clear view of where their teams stand and confidence that the numbers they report are consistent across every disclosure.
“Say goodbye to data inconsistency,” Aakanksha said. “That’s going to be a thing of the past.”
The Road to Transformation: Start Small, Scale Fast
Much like Episode 1’s metaphor of the manual-to-automatic car journey, the second episode emphasized an incremental approach.
Digital transformation doesn’t need to happen all at once. Organizations can start small, then scale up to include more users, workflows, and data connections. Over time, this expands into a fully automated, AI-powered ecosystem where every step from ERP to regulatory submission is connected.
IRIS CARBON®’s implementation model is designed for this gradual evolution. Organizations can go live within weeks, not months, supported by dedicated experts who ensure the platform aligns with existing workflows.
As adoption grows, finance functions move from manual processes to intelligent automation.
The Bigger Picture
Finance is evolving from compliance-driven to strategy-driven, and disclosure management is the bridge between the two.
Technology doesn’t fail. Implementation does. The goal is to make technology fit finance, not force finance to fit technology.
Aakanksha Swaminathan
Functional Specialist, IRIS CARBON®
That is the vision behind IRIS CARBON®’s disclosure management platform. It is more than a reporting solution; it is the structural foundation that keeps finance connected, compliant, and future-ready.
