Regulatory Agencies Inventory and Attributes

Description — A unique, permanent, human-readable identifier assigned to every Regulatory Agency following the enterprise naming convention. Encodes the jurisdiction code and short agency name in its structure.

Benefit(s) — Enables unambiguous cross-inventory referencing — the Regulations Inventory, Regulatory Obligations Inventory, and Data and Information Inventory all reference Regulatory Agencies by Semantic ID. Enables AI-assisted cross-inventory traversal without ambiguity. The jurisdiction code is essential because many agencies share similar names across countries.

Source — Manual.

Examples — REG-US-SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), REG-EU-EDPB (European Data Protection Board), REG-UK-FCA (UK Financial Conduct Authority), REG-INTL-ISO (International Organization for Standardization), REG-US-CA-CPPA (California Privacy Protection Agency)

Notes — Recommended convention: REG-{JurisdictionCode}-{ShortAgencyName}. For sub-national agencies, include both the country and sub-national code: REG-US-CA-CPPA for a California agency, REG-CA-QC-CAI for a Quebec agency. Permanent once assigned.

Description — The agency’s full, official name in its primary operating language — as it appears on its own publications, regulations, and official communications.

Benefit(s) — Provides the authoritative, unambiguous identity of the regulatory body for legal, compliance, and contractual contexts where the common abbreviation is insufficient.

Source — Manual.

Examples — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, European Data Protection Board, Financial Conduct Authority, Autorité de protection des données (French-language official name for Belgium’s DPA)

Notes — For agencies that publish in multiple languages, record the official name in the agency’s primary operating language. Document alternative language names in the Alternate Names attribute.

Common Name / Abbreviation

[Multi-Value]

Description — The widely used short name or abbreviation by which this agency is commonly known in practitioner contexts. Multi-value where multiple abbreviations are in common use.

Benefit(s) — Enables practitioners to find agency records using the names they know — most compliance professionals know "SEC," "FCA," or "EDPB" without knowing the full official name. Essential for search and cross-referencing.

Source — Manual.

Examples — SEC; U.S. SEC (for disambiguation), FCA, EDPB, FDA, FINRA, ICO, CNIL, BaFin, APRA

Notes — Separate multiple values with semicolons. Include the country prefix where the abbreviation is not globally unique (e.g., "ICO" is the UK Information Commissioner’s Office but the same abbreviation is used informally for other bodies).

Description — What this regulatory agency does, what it regulates, and why the enterprise is subject to its jurisdiction. Precise enough that a practitioner can determine whether a new regulatory requirement originates from this agency.

Benefit(s) — Provides immediate context without requiring external lookup. Answers the fundamental question: why does this agency matter to the enterprise?

Source — Manual.

Notes — Write in terms of what the agency governs and why the enterprise is subject to it. Good: "The U.S. federal agency responsible for enforcing federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, stock and options exchanges. The enterprise is subject to its jurisdiction as a publicly listed company under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934." Poor: "Government securities regulator."

Alternate Names

[Multi-Value]

Description — Other names or abbreviations by which this agency is known — including names in other languages for non-English-speaking jurisdictions, former names following agency reorganizations or mergers, and informal names in common use.

Benefit(s) — Enables record discovery when practitioners use alternate terminology. Particularly important for agencies that have been reorganized or renamed, and for agencies whose official name is in a non-English language.

Source — Manual.

Examples — Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés (for CNIL when searching in English), Office of the Privacy Commissioner (former name of a reorganized agency), AMF (used in both France and Quebec for different but related agencies)

Notes — Separate multiple values with semicolons. Document the reason for the alternate name where helpful (e.g., "Former name: [name] prior to 2023 reorganization").