Challenge

A Leading Third Party Marketing Firm that helped banks promote investment and insurance products to clients received an audit notification from the SEC. Being a large firm serving the financial industry, audits were always a possibility; however, due to personnel turnover, the key resource for compliance-related information was unavailable.

Solutions

Fortunately, The Marketing Firm used EAI Information Systems to handle compliance. When the client requested assistance, the EAI team was able to fill the gaps left by the recent turnover. EAI’s system tracks every customer, account, and transaction performed throughout their network of banks. So when SEC requested transactional data for a certain time period, the EAI team quickly produced it. When compliance flags were raised, EAI was able to show that the client had taken the proper action at the time of discovery. Throughout the audit process, EAI essentially acted as an extension of the Marketing Firm’s team, verifying proper conduct.

Results

Through their close partnership with EAI, the client passed their audit. However, very few audits end without at least a few recommendations. When those suggestions came through, EAI assisted the Marketing Firm by creating 5 customized reports designed specifically to fill the gaps the audit uncovered.

This client had had the foresight to go paperless with EAI Information Systems. This allowed them to overcome a potentially dangerous lack of knowledge prior to an audit, saving time, money, and hassle during a period when they needed an expert.

With enforcement actions increasing 10% and penalties growing from $3.4B to $4.16B, compliance is a bottom line issue with implications for all financial firms. Having a partner committed to ensuring that you have constant access to the information you need to survive an audit is an investment in security and revenue.