Spending on corporate actions projects is projected to total almost US$830 million between 2003-2007 as the securities and investment industry looks to automate one of the last remaining manual areas within the securities processing chain.

In this new 30-page report, Celent Communications provides asset managers, investment banks/ brokerage firms, and custodians with insights into the current state of corporate actions automation. Technology advancements in the areas of workflow, exception management, and messaging are discussed, as are the obstacles thwarting attempts to fully automate the entire corporate action processing chain. The report also provides guidance for firms evaluating third-party vendors of corporate action solutions. A functional requirement checklist is included for review.

"Corporate actions processing is complicated and the effort and costs required to implement a solution should not be underestimated," states Celent analyst Pamela Brewster, author of the report. "Given these word of caution, we would recommend that firms looking to automate this process take a phased approach. Identify those parts of the process which not only will benefit most from automation, but also lend themselves most easily to automation." says Brewster.