"It's all about the data, and how to get to it—fast."
Greg Friedman's stark comment about the key to a successful compliance examination kicked off his presentation in Denver to advisors and compliance officers Thursday morning.
The session, sponsored by Laserfiche, was the technology follow-up to well-known compliance lawyer Tom Giachetti. Giachetti's presentation centered on red flags that attract the attention of examiners, while Friedman focused on using a CRM to eliminate or minimize their causes, as well as what to do during the exam itself. Friedman, president of Private Ocean Wealth Management as well as CRM software firm Junxure, listed the following items as those that examiners will likely request to see:
—Current client lists
—Contact lists (both email and postal correspondence)
—Proof of a "culture of compliance," including documentation of procedures for recurring actions, action sequences and action templates
"A CRM has built-in compliance fields," Friedman (right) explained. "You just have to change the dates to suit the time periods examiners want to see and you can bring it up right in front of them."