The compliance team at your brokerage firm does all that it can to get the job done. But as your firm grows and regulators roll out new rules, your compliance team can quickly find its workload has grown to a point which details might begin to fall through the cracks.
At a brokerage firm, details falling through the cracks can be detrimental to clients, investors and the firm’s reputation. In other words, it simply can’t happen.
Compliance consulting can be a helpful solution. Utilizing the experience and fresh eyes of an external consultant addresses program gaps and offers solutions which your firm’s compliance team might not have considered or known.
In this blog, we’ll review a list of top indicators that it could be time for your brokerage firm to bring in a compliance consultant.
Top Indicators it could be time for your brokerage firm to bring in a compliance consultant
At a brokerage firm, your compliance professionals have their work cut out for them. These are the top indicators it’s time for your firm to bring in a compliance consultant:
1.A regulator rolls out a new rule or amendment which applies to your firm.
2022 was an active year for regulatory activity, and 2023 is gearing up to be the same way. This year, compliance teams will have to quickly determine what regulations apply to their brokerage firms and effectively adapt them into their programs to ensure ongoing compliance.
A compliance consultant will be able to help your brokerage assess which regulations apply to your firm and how your firm can best include those regulations into its compliance program, helping you protect your firm from a compliance violation.
2. Your firm has an upcoming regulator examination/visit.
With pointed risk alerts, regulators have made it clear examinations are coming. Not only that, but they will heavily scrutinize how well your firm adheres to the newly introduced and sometimes-complex regulations.
An outside compliance consultant will be up to date on the latest regulations and provide insight into what regulators will be looking for during examinations. While your compliance professionals might be approaching your firm’s compliance program from one angle, a compliance consultant, as an outsider, will be able to spot gaps and red flags your internal compliance professionals may not. Not only that, but a compliance professional will have the expertise to advise your compliance team on how to address those deficiencies and craft a compliance program which will appease regulators.
3. There has been a cybersecurity breach.
Cyber-attacks can wreak havoc on firms and their clients, and they can come from anywhere, even within a firm. Compliance teams will have to do their due diligence in implementing protective measures, including thoroughly training its staff and creating thorough policies and procedures, to mitigate cybersecurity risk. Bringing in an outside compliance consultant can help your compliance team craft a program which thoroughly educates employees and mitigates risk of another cybersecurity breach.
4. Your firm is repeatedly experiencing the same compliance risks.
An educated compliance consultant can assess your firm’s compliance program with a fresh set of eyes and offer solutions to thoroughly address the problem area and prevent future violations in that area. So you don’t uncover the same deficiency during your next annual compliance reviews.
5. Your firm is assessing the cost of running its compliance program.
Finally, a good compliance consultant can help your firm craft a quality compliance program which is cost efficient without cutting key areas necessary to run an effective program.
NRS® compliance consultants help firms stay ahead of ever-changing regulations, promptly spotting and addressing gaps in their compliance programs. Our expert consultant compliance professionals execute a comprehensive assessment of your firm’s compliance program, test it against applicable regulatory requirements and expectations and help identify and remediate compliance risks.
At NRS, we can help you meet regulatory requirements and remain in compliance while minimizing burdens on business processes. Let’s talk about how we can improve your firm’s compliance program.