In an annual letter to member firms, the FINRA departments of Member Regulation, Market Regulation and Enforcement outlined some of their 2010 examination priorities, as well as updated firms on other news and events. The letter is worth a read by all compliance staff and higher level managers, if not all principals. While many of the items are not new, its a good reminder of what the regulators believe are still the "hot button" items, and what things they'll certainly be reviewing during examinations of broker-dealers.
Making the 2010 list are: fraud detection ( ensuring adequate procedures and controls for preventing fraud); information barriers (prevention of insider trading and misuse of other information); variable annuities (particularly recommendations to switch from one to another); protection of customer information/ firm's internal IT security; anti-money laundering; business continuity planning; and branch office supervision. Several other areas focusing on trading issues as well as valuation made the list as well.
Forewarned is forearmed.
