At Diriga Technologies, we know that protecting your investors means safeguarding their data. Our IT support team is committed to helping your organization meet all FINRA compliance requirements in Orlando, and to successfully maintaining your certification now and in the future. Whether you operate in the private or public sector, we are ready to help you by providing compliant IT services.
What is FINRA?
FINRA is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and they are an independent agency that provides auditing and regulation enforcing services to the financial industry. While FINRA is not a government agency, they do work closely with the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) and will enforce those regulations as well as their own regulations.
FINRA is there to provide a safe and stable environment for market investors, which means that any investment, financial, securities, or brokerage firm is subject to regular FINRA audits.
What Happens During A FINRA Audit?
When your firm is due for an exam, FINRA will assign a Regulatory Coordinator who works with an examination team to build a risk-based execution plan. This plan is focused on areas that are material for your business. The investigation begins electronically through FINRA’s Firm Gateway portal. The next steps in the process include a pre-site inspection of documents and an on-site inspection conducted by a FINRA team.
FINRA examines your firm’s licensing and verifies that you are up to date with licenses, industry education, registrations, and best practices. They will also check that your day-to-day activities are conducted in a way that minimizes risks to accounts.
They will also check that any claims you are making in your marketing are accurately represented and that your business and trade practices are upstanding.
How Frequently Does FINRA Conduct Audits?
FINRA assesses your firm’s business activities by evaluating its risks. These evaluations will then determine how often you will need to go through their cycle examinations. The examinations occur every one, two, three, or four years.
Where Does Cybersecurity Come In?
Protecting your investors means that you need to protect their data too. Diriga Technologies provides FINRA-compliant managed IT services that:
- Identify and assess cybersecurity risks
- Protect assets from cyberattacks
- Detect if systems and assets have been compromised
Our services will assist you by planning for a response when a compromise occurs and by implementing a plan that will work to recover lost, stolen, or unavailable assets. If you need to meet FINRA compliance requirements in Orlando, contact our office today. We’re here to help your organization stay compliant and use technology to your advantage.