MyComplianceOffice Blog

The holidays are here. The air is filled with cheer. . . and gifts and entertainment that might be putting your organization at risk. And those gift and entertainment compliance concerns don't end when the holidays are over. Taking a mindful approach to both the giving and receiving of gifts and entertainment can help firms stay on top of compliance throughout the year.

The European Market Abuse Regulations (MAR) have been in effect since July of 2016. Recent priorities published by regulators in the UK and across Europe demonstrate that MAR is hardly old news, remaining a consistent priority since its inception. And regulatory enforcement shows that even six years in, firms are still struggling to stay compliant with MAR regulations and the flow of material nonpublic information (MNPI) across their organizations.

Firms are required to renew the FINRA and state/jurisdiction registrations of their registered reps every year, and the deadlines are coming up fast. Now’s the time to make sure that you have the right framework in place to manage your renewals on time, cost effectively, and efficiently—this year and moving forward.

Employees at all levels of the organization make decisions that impact compliance every single day. To ensure that those decisions are wise ones, employees need to understand where they fit into the organization. If there's not a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities supported by controls and accountability there's a risk of chaotic compliance—and a chaotic culture across the firm.

Insider dealing is a perennial concern for regulators around the globe. Agencies like the SEC, the FCA, BaFin and the AMF are using the latest technology to detect insider trading, misuse of insider information and market abuse. Regulators increasingly expect as well that firms will have the latest technology in place in order to demonstrate that they are taking a comprehensive and proactive approach to managing access to insider information and employee personal account dealing compliance.