Picture this: You’re a CCO managing the big-picture strategy for your firm. Guiding decisions, ensuring risk mitigation tactics, and driving a culture of compliance.
But at the same time, you’re also responsible for the day-to-day management of your compliance program.
Which likely leads you to ask the inevitable: how can I do it all?
In our recent webinar, The Impact of Regulatory Evolution: Why CCOs Must Practice Ruthless Prioritization to Achieve Compliance in 2024, Chad Hartwick, Sr. Director of Compliance, and Corrie Scoby, Compliance Consultant, led an in-depth discussion on the current state of the regulatory landscape. Ultimately, deriving why CCOs and compliance professionals of all levels must practice ruthless prioritization to maintain compliance and mitigate critical risks.
Best Practices to Adapt in an Evolving Regulatory Landscape
During the webinar, attendees were surveyed on two key questions:
- Did any of the recent enforcement cases spur changes in your own compliance program?
- How do you anticipate your budget/resources changing in the coming months?
While 68% stated they did make changes within their own compliance program based on enforcement actions, only 46% expected an increase in budget and resources. And in fact, 43% expect no change in resources at all.
For those firms looking to navigate increasingly stringent enforcement coupled with heightening regulatory requirements, the answer is clear: ruthless prioritization.
How can a firm do so?
1. Prioritize Most Impactful Items First
To be most successful, you must take it one step at a time. I suggest assessing your to-dos within the context of two variables:
- Timeline & Urgency
- Importance & Risk Exposure
As COMPLY Chief Product Officer David Bliss stated, “Being able to assign prioritization in that way will allow you to focus on what needs done today vs. next week or next month. From there, get comfortable with the new rule, its requirements, and how it impacts your policies and procedures before worrying about the rest.”
2. Pay Attention to News Put Out by Regulatory Bodies
- Annual Priorities from the SEC and FINRA provide overarching guidelines
- Regulatory Risk Alerts act as signal changes
- Enforcement Actions are a useful reminder of potential oversights or missteps
3. Proactively Plan for Rule Implementation
We would expect any rules approved in H1 2024 to have compliance dates no earlier than December 31, 2024, and no later than December 31, 2025.
4. But Don’t Forget About the Basics
As COMPLY Chief Regulatory Officer John Gebauer stated, “In the face of new regulations, it is natural to prioritize their implementation by focusing attention and resources on them. But the reality is that, normally, that means shifting attention and resources from something else – like the existing compliance obligations. It is not unusual, then, that “dropping the ball” violations can occur during periods of regulatory change.”
5. Leverage Benchmark Data
Speak with colleagues and determine how they have implemented certain practices. Benchmark your own firm against your peers to see where improvements can be made.
6. Remove the Siloes
Financial compliance is not siloed or simple. Rules are only increasing, creating heightened requirements. There are massive amounts of data, insights, and risk mitigation strategies that are not possible with siloed systems. By removing siloes and leveraging holistic compliance technologies, firms can gain critical insights to enable strategic risk mitigation strategies.
The world of regulation and compliance is often a tricky one to navigate, with new complexities creating uncertainties for firms, especially those which face restricted budgets and resources. However, being prepared with the right guidelines, understanding new rules and updates, recognizing industry trends and maintaining robust compliance structures can help ensure ongoing compliance amid heightening regulations.
Learn more about how COMPLY can help you achieve and maintain compliance with robust technology, service, and education offerings. Schedule time to speak with one of our experts today.