The Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation on how technology can make it easier for finance firms to meet their regulatory reporting requirements and improve the quality of the information they provide.

The move follows a recent ‘TechSprint’ event, held by the FCA and the Bank of England, that brought bring together financial services providers, technology companies and experts to examine how technology can make the current system of regulatory reporting more accurate, efficient and consistent.

During the event, participants successfully developed a "proof of concept" which could make regulatory reporting requirements machine-readable and executable. This means that firms could map the reporting requirements directly to the data that they hold, creating the potential for automated processing of regulatory returns.

The FCA says this could benefit both firms and regulators. For example, the accuracy of data submissions could be improved and their costs reduced; changes to regulatory requirements could be implemented more quickly;  and a reduction in compliance costs could lower barriers to entry and promote competition.

The Call for Input outlines how this "proof of concept" was developed and asks for views on how the FCA can improve this process. The paper also seeks feedback on some of the broader issues surrounding the role technology can play in regulatory reporting.

FCA executive director of strategy and competition Christopher Woolard said: "Technology is a powerful shaper of financial regulation, able to make compliance simpler and more efficient. Our TechSprints bring people from across the financial services world together to share their collective knowledge to solve common problems. We look forward to working with industry participants in the coming months to drive these ideas forward."

The Call for Input will close on June 20 2018.