The Retail Broker-Dealer Compliance Testing Manager

Description

What is the The Retail Broker-Dealer Compliance Testing course about?

Run a defensible annual compliance testing program for a retail broker-dealer: scoping memo, sample plans, working papers, exception logs, and the closing report the CCO signs. Your annual compliance testing program is what the regulator opens first. The scoping memo, the sample methodology, the workpapers, the exception log, and the closing report have to defend each other end to end. Includes a.

Why this course?

What do you take away from the The Retail Broker-Dealer Compliance Testing course?

Write the testing scoping memo with rule selection rationale, population definition, sample methodology, and residual-risk justification an examiner accepts. Build workpapers that re-perform cleanly: documented query, sample seed, reviewer initials, supervisor countersign, evidence link. Run the exception escalation path from finding to root cause to remediation owner to closure evidence with dates and sign-offs. Map every exception back to the Written Supervisory.

What you get with this course?

12 written modules with the workpaper templates referenced in each module. Scoping memo template, testing program templates for each rule, exception register, remediation tracker, closing report, audit committee one-pager. The hand-built implementation playbook, sized to the recipient's testing universe and registration profile, delivered alongside course access. 30-day money-back guarantee.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1?

Course access provisioned within 24 hours of purchase. Implementation playbook hand-built and delivered alongside course access. Module pacing self-directed; full program covered in 6 to 8 working weeks at 4 hours per week.

What does the The Retail Broker-Dealer Compliance Testing cover on before and after?

Scoping memo is a list of rules without rationale. Workpapers say 'reviewed and no exceptions noted' with no documented query or supervisor countersign. Exceptions sit open without a remediation owner. The closing report is rewritten in a panic the week of the audit committee. The FINRA examiner asks for the scoping memo first and the program has nothing defensible behind it. Scoping.

What happens if you do not address this?

A FINRA examination that opens with a deficiency on the testing program lands the deficiency on the CCO and on the compliance manager who owned the workpapers. Letter, fine, remediation under regulator timeline, and a public AWC are the typical sequence. Rebuilding the program under examination is more expensive than building it now.

Who it is for?

More answers: what you get with every course, refund policy, all help answers.

A focused course, tailored for you

The Retail Broker-Dealer Compliance Testing Manager Playbook

Run a defensible annual compliance testing program for a retail broker-dealer: scoping memo, sample plans, working papers, exception logs, and the closing report the CCO signs.

Your annual compliance testing program is what the regulator opens first. The scoping memo, the sample methodology, the workpapers, the exception log, and the closing report have to defend each other end to end.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

Compliance managers at retail broker-dealers carry a testing program that has to survive three different readers: the CCO who signs the closing report, the internal audit team that re-performs a sample, and the FINRA examiner who reads the scoping memo before any test result. Each reader looks for something different. The CCO wants a clean executive summary and a credible remediation calendar. Internal audit wants the query that produced the population, the random-number seed, the reviewer initials, the supervisor countersign. The examiner wants the rationale for what was excluded from testing, the residual-risk justification, and the linkage between exceptions and the Written Supervisory Procedures that should have prevented them. A testing program that satisfies one reader and not the other two is the program that gets a deficiency letter. This course walks through the artefacts that satisfy all three, in the order they get reviewed.

What you walk away with

Write the testing scoping memo with rule selection rationale, population definition, sample methodology, and residual-risk justification an examiner accepts.
Build workpapers that re-perform cleanly: documented query, sample seed, reviewer initials, supervisor countersign, evidence link.
Run the exception escalation path from finding to root cause to remediation owner to closure evidence with dates and sign-offs.
Map every exception back to the Written Supervisory Procedure that should have prevented it and update the WSP where the procedure is the gap.
Draft the closing report and audit committee summary the CCO presents at year-end.
Defend the program in real time during a FINRA examination using a single binder of artefacts.

The 12 modules

Module 1. The Testing Universe and the Scoping Memo

Build the testing universe from the rule book the broker-dealer is registered under: Reg BI, Rule 3110, AML under the Bank Secrecy Act, Reg S-P, Reg S-ID, Rule 17a-4, FINRA advertising rules, and the firm element of continuing education. The scoping memo states which rules are in scope this cycle, why each was selected, what was deferred and why, and the residual-risk justification a regulator accepts. Includes the scoping memo template and the deferred-rule rationale log.

Module 2. Reg BI Testing for the Retail Recommendation

Test the Care Obligation, the Disclosure Obligation, the Conflict of Interest Obligation, and the Compliance Obligation against actual retail recommendations. Build the sample plan that pulls representative recommendations across product types and account sizes, run the documentation test against Form CRS delivery records, and document the reviewer logic that ties each recommendation to the documented best-interest analysis. Includes the Reg BI test program and the Form CRS sampling worksheet.

Module 3. Rule 3110 Supervisory Review Testing

Test that supervisors are doing what the Written Supervisory Procedures say they do: reviewing email and electronic communications, signing off on new accounts, approving trades flagged by the surveillance system, and documenting branch examinations. Pull supervisor evidence, sample reviews per the WSP cadence, identify gaps in countersignature timeliness, and document the supervisor escalation log. Includes the supervisory testing template and the branch examination checklist.

Module 4. AML Testing and the Independent Test Letter

Run the annual AML independent test required under FINRA Rule 3310. Cover the Customer Identification Program, ongoing customer due diligence, the SAR queue and SAR filing timeliness, OFAC screening on new accounts and on the transaction stream, and the FinCEN 314(a) response process. Document findings against the AML program manual and draft the independent test letter to the firm's AML compliance officer. Includes the AML test program and the SAR queue review worksheet.

Module 5. Reg S-P, Reg S-ID, and Customer Data Safeguards

Test the firm's safeguards over customer information: who has access to the customer database, how access is logged and reviewed, how privacy notices are delivered on account opening and annually, and how the Identity Theft Prevention Program detects and responds to red flags. Sample new account openings, sample privacy notice delivery records, and sample the identity theft case log. Includes the Reg S-P safeguards test and the Reg S-ID red flag verification worksheet.

Module 6. Communications Surveillance and 17a-4 Retention

Test that the firm captures, retains, and surveils registered representative communications per Rule 17a-4 and FINRA Rule 3110(b)(4). Sample retention of email, text messaging, social media posts, and chat application activity. Test the surveillance lexicon hits against reviewer disposition, and test the supervisor review of flagged communications. Includes the 17a-4 retention test and the surveillance disposition sampling worksheet.

Module 7. Advertising, Social Media, and Retail Communications Testing

Test compliance with FINRA Rule 2210 and the advertising filing requirements. Sample retail communications from registered reps including social media, sample principal pre-use approval evidence, sample disclosure of past performance and projections, and verify that any advertising filed with FINRA carries the filing receipt. Includes the Rule 2210 test program and the social media disposition worksheet.

Module 8. Outside Business Activity, Gifts, and Conflicts

Test the OBA disclosure log against the registered representative population and against public sources where OBAs typically surface. Test the gifts and entertainment log against the gift policy threshold and against vendor and counterparty patterns. Test the political contribution and pay-to-play policy disclosures. Includes the OBA verification worksheet, the gifts log sampling template, and the conflict register update procedure.

Module 9. Branch Office Examination Testing

Run the branch examination cycle required by Rule 3110(c). Build the risk-rated branch examination schedule, design the on-site review program, sample branch books and records, sample customer correspondence retained at the branch, test the books-and-records location log, and document the branch finding response. Includes the branch exam schedule template and the on-site review program.

Module 10. Exception Handling, Root Cause, and Remediation Tracker

Build the exception lifecycle from finding to closure: classification by severity, root-cause documentation, remediation owner assignment, due date, evidence of closure, and supervisor sign-off. Tie every exception back to the WSP section that should have prevented it, and update the WSP where the procedure itself is the gap. Maintain the remediation tracker that the CCO uses in the audit committee report. Includes the exception register template and the remediation tracker.

Module 11. The Closing Report and the Audit Committee Summary

Draft the year-end closing report: scope coverage, methodology summary, findings by severity, remediation status, recurring themes, and CCO certification. Build the executive summary the CCO presents to the audit committee and the board, with the heat map, the trend against prior cycles, and the testing calendar for the next year. Includes the closing report template and the audit committee one-pager.

Module 12. Surviving the FINRA Examination

Walk through the examiner's day-one document request and the artefacts the testing program has to produce in real time: the scoping memo, the testing universe, the workpapers for the rules under examination, the exception register, the WSP updates, and the remediation evidence. Practice the on-site interview the testing manager will sit, and the binder the CCO hands across the table. Includes the FINRA exam day-one binder index and the on-site interview prep.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

Rebuilding the testing program after an examination deficiency letter cited inadequate scoping or workpaper documentation.

Standing up a first independent AML test after expanding the broker-dealer registration or adding new account types.

Inherited the compliance testing role and need a defensible cycle ready before the CCO presents to the audit committee.

Preparing for a routine FINRA cycle examination where the testing program is the first item on the document request.

What you get with this course

12 written modules with the workpaper templates referenced in each module.
Scoping memo template, testing program templates for each rule, exception register, remediation tracker, closing report, audit committee one-pager.
The hand-built implementation playbook, sized to the recipient's testing universe and registration profile, delivered alongside course access.
30-day money-back guarantee.

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Course access provisioned within 24 hours of purchase.

Implementation playbook hand-built and delivered alongside course access.

Module pacing self-directed; full program covered in 6 to 8 working weeks at 4 hours per week.

Before and after

Before

After

Scoping memo states rule selection rationale, population, sample methodology, and residual-risk justification. Workpapers re-perform cleanly. Exceptions flow to remediation owners with due dates and closure evidence. The closing report is built throughout the year and the audit committee one-pager is on the CCO's desk a month early. The examiner reads the binder and moves on.

What happens if you do not address this

Who it is for

A compliance manager inside a US retail broker-dealer or dually-registered wealth firm, accountable for some or all of the annual compliance testing program. Reports to a CCO or a Director of Compliance. Owns a portion of the testing universe (Reg BI, Rule 3110 supervision, AML, Reg S-P safeguards, Reg S-ID identity theft, communications retention under 17a-4, advertising and social media, gifts and entertainment, OBA, or branch examination). Spends meaningful time in workpaper review, supervisor escalations, and remediation tracking. Has a regulatory exam in the next twelve months or is rebuilding the testing program after one.

Who this is NOT for. This is not for a registered representative who needs the Series 24. It is not for a CCO of a hedge fund or a private equity adviser whose compliance program is built around the Investment Advisers Act. It is not for a tech vendor selling RegTech tooling. It is for the person who owns the testing workpapers.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Approximately 30 to 40 hours of focused work across 6 to 8 weeks. Each module is a 2 to 4 hour read plus the template build and worked example.

Why $199 is the right number

FINRA continuing education and the Series 24 cover the rules but not the testing workpapers. Compliance vendor platforms (the major broker-dealer compliance suites) hold the data but do not write the scoping memo or the closing report. Big4 compliance consulting will build the program for six figures plus retainer. This course gives the testing manager the artefacts and the implementation playbook for 199 USD.

FAQ

Does this assume a specific compliance vendor platform?

No. The workpaper templates are vendor-agnostic markdown and spreadsheet artefacts. They work whether the firm uses an enterprise compliance suite, a homegrown SharePoint setup, or a mix.

Is this for a CCO or for a compliance manager?

It is built for the compliance manager who owns the testing workpapers. The CCO benefits because the closing report and audit committee one-pager are designed for the report-up. A CCO using this directly is fine; a Series 24 principal is the typical reader.

Does it cover Investment Advisers Act testing as well as broker-dealer rules?

The primary focus is broker-dealer rules under FINRA and the SEC's broker-dealer rule set. Module 4 (AML) and Module 5 (customer data) apply to dually-registered firms. A separate playbook handles the Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-7 program.

Does the implementation playbook replace the firm's WSPs?

No. The playbook is sized to the recipient's testing universe and is meant to integrate with the existing WSP set. It updates WSP references where exceptions reveal a procedure gap.

What does the implementation playbook actually contain?

A scoping memo populated against the recipient's registration profile and product mix, a testing calendar aligned to the firm's fiscal year, draft workpaper templates pre-filled for the rules in scope, and the audit committee one-pager structured for the firm's reporting cadence.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.