Last week we had a visit from our NACFB Compliance Auditor. I not going to lie, I was nervous! Compliance is a crucial part of my day, a huge part of the way we run the business and maintain our regulatory position as a Principle firm.
Weeks of planning and prepping was all down to a 2 hour slot of time in which I was going to be (in my mind) interviewed, questioned and grilled like a school kid in the head teachers office. However, this was far from the reality.
Erica was thorough, but professional and very knowledgeable. I was asked a series of questions on the different elements of the audit, regards the AR’s on our register and the process for handling data, clients and lenders on panel. Having built our systems and processes from scratch myself this was all easy to answer and my document files as back up evidence.
The afternoon passed by with a couple of laughs (my watch actually told me to remember to breathe at one point) and away she went. I did shed a small tear, maybe from relief or exhaustion I’m not sure.
The report came through promptly the next day, A1 status and 100% pass rate! I was thrilled. This is by no means the end of the compliance journey for me though this month.
The AR Regime reporting window is open for us and we have to complete our status report by 28th February, which is already well underway.
Consumer Duty is also looming around the corner. All plans had to be documented last year and we are in the process of implementing the new systems and processes into our daily routines. I am trying to make sure that all this doesn’t impact the work load for our AR’s as they are best doing their day jobs, and no one likes extra paperwork!
Compliance is an ongoing process, with ever changing regulations. We will continue to lead from the front and develop our systems to remain “best in class”