Competing priorities for compliance departments today include tight budgets, challenges hiring and retaining skilled professionals, the continuing impact of COVID 19 and remote and hybrid work—all while maintaining a culture of compliance in the midst of everything else.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released the staff bulletin Standards of Conduct for Broker-Dealers and Investment Adviser Conflicts of Interest to reiterate the required standards and obligations for broker-dealers under Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and for investment advisers the fiduciary duty standards under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Compliance is a crucial business function for every large-scale and small-scale organisation. It is imperative that organisations monitor the compliance landscape on a consistent basis. However, doing so requires a great deal of time and resources, and remaining compliant at all times is an even bigger task.

Every single firm, no matter how big or small, has to adhere to all the latest regulations, requirements and laws. However, many small-sized firms struggle with meeting their compliance obligations, as they lack sufficient resources to properly manage this area.

2020 and 2021 have been eventful years, dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic and political and regulatory changes across the globe. In their Cost of Compliance 2021 survey Thomson Reuters researchers asked over 720 global financial services professionals their thoughts on the state of compliance in today’s world. The results highlight the challenges and changes that compliance practitioners in the financial services industry expect to face in the year ahead.