Compliance expert Amy Lynch on the SEC’s exam road map (InvestmentNews)

A recent risk alert issued by the SEC offers details on its criteria for selecting investment advisers for an examination. FrontLine Compliance Founder and President Amy Lynch is exclusively quoted in the InvestmentNews story covering the alert. Ms. Lynch discusses how the SEC provides a roadmap for investment advisers by describing how it decides which firms to examine, the compliance areas it will focus on and the documents it will request. She comments that the SEC is essentially telling firms where to look in their compliance program and books and records to ensure they are meeting SEC requirements and providing the appropriate information to examiners. Ms. Lynch adds that the unusual amount of details provided in the alert may be how the SEC is putting firms on notice for upcoming exams. In this way, the SEC is preparing the industry with the objective of achieving smoother exams, which would ultimately increase the number of exams that can be conducted by the regulator. See InvestmentNews, “SEC provides road map for investment advisory firm examinations”