Independent Compliance Consultant

Every financial services company needs to abide by the applicable laws and regulations imposed by the SEC, FINRA, and the States.  An experienced independent compliance consultant can help your company stick to the rules and protect your firm.

If you are looking to consult with a seasoned industry expert in compliance matters, read this article and find out the information you need and how to get started.

Connect with us for assistance with your next regulatory challenge or compliance enhancement opportunity.

 

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Why Hire An Independent Compliance Consultant?

In recent years, FINRA rulemaking has seen a subtle shift in favor of independent testing and compliance reviews.  It isn’t difficult to understand why.  Oftentimes, the compliance staff of a broker/dealer or RIA are the same people that are tasked with testing and evaluating the effectiveness of the very supervisory system they built and work in every day.  The conflicts of that arrangement are obvious.  For most in-house compliance officers, it is the professional equivalent of being hypercritical of your own child.  Having served as industry CCOs for decades we understand the challenges that come with self-evaluation.

 

That’s where independent testing and support play an important role.  An experienced Compliance Consultant will provide an independent and unbiased review of your supervisory and compliance systems. Moreover, a good consultant will make observations and relevant recommendations to strengthen and streamline processes, day-to-day operations, and compliance systems.  In the long run, a compliance consultant can become a familiar advocate and collaborative partner to serve as a valuable resource to existing dedicated compliance team members.          

 

Their job is to identify potential risks that the company might face due to weaknesses in compliance systems and never-ending changes in the regulatory landscape. An independent compliance consultant performs compliance assessments, evaluates and mitigates risks, and trains employees to perform relevant compliance checks.

 

 

What are 7 Core Pillars of Compliance?

Let’s explore seven essential requirements of an effective compliance program:

  1. Say it, do it, prove it.  Implement, monitor, test, and amend written policies and procedures frequently and document the good work that you do in discharging your supervisory system 
  2. Designate a compliance officer and designate, by name, the team members responsible for each critical function of the firm
  3. Adopt an ongoing compliance training program to teach employees and registered associates their roles in building and maintaining an effective compliance environment
  4. Develop effective lines of communication between compliance officers, downline staff, senior management, and boards of directors
  5. Always be evolving. Conduct independent internal assessments, monitor progress using peer reviews/compliance inspections, conduct frequent testing and audits, and implement changes when necessary.
  6. Enforce compliance standards through good publication of disciplinary guidelines
  7. Respond quickly and efficiently to the problems you detect and implement corrective solutions.