Abstract: Some acts of legislation impose various requirements on public and private entities. Generating awareness of these requirements and how they impact operations, as well as ongoing monitoring for compliance, is a complex problem. A solution to the challenge can be facilitated by a software system capable of simultaneously addressing multiple regulatory compliance requirements. The software method of this invention combines a unified ontology-based compliance model with reasoning elements to address compliance issues across multiple governance areas. The unified compliance model (UCM) allows a more effective identification and analysis of compliance issues that are common between separate regulatory acts as well as addressing interrelationships between multiple distinct regulations.