This function should include a policy review calendar that aligns with regulatory developments, coupled with a version control system to ensure that your staff operates from the latest guidelines. Implementing a rapid response protocol for immediate updates will prevent falling behind during legal shifts. • Monitoring and Testing: Regular evaluations of business activities are crucial for maintaining compliance and identifying weaknesses. Your CMS should prioritize high-risk areas for more frequent testing and employ data analytics to detect potential compliance drifts. By leveraging real-time dashboards for risk visibility, it’s possible to eliminate repeat findings and improve governance. Thorough documentation of your findings and remediation efforts underscores a proactive risk management approach. • Compliance Audit: Your CMS should facilitate independent reviews to validate the effectiveness of controls and identify areas for improvement. Audits provide a reality check on how well your institution can adapt to regulatory changes, ensuring interim policies and procedures are compliant and effective. • Issue Management and Corrective Action: It’s critical to track, resolve and prevent recurring issues. By incorporating these processes into your CMS, you demonstrate proactive compliance to regulators and highlight your institution’s capacity to tackle issues amid shifting regulations. • Consumer Complaint Response: Complaints are often more than just isolated issues; they’re an early warning system for compliance risks tied to unclear or changing rules. By leveraging them effectively, you can identify patterns of potential consumer harm that can draw regulatory focus. By integrating complaint management within your CMS, analyzing trends and updating training, you can reduce complaints, improve customer satisfaction and minimize compliance risks. To facilitate this, your CMS should include centralized complaint intake, analysis of trends and integration with risk functions. Training staff on effective complaint handling will help bridge gaps, fostering a proactive culture of compliance and risk awareness. • Training: If a regulator knocked on your door today, could you prove that your teams are up to date with the current rules? Your CMS ensures accurate delivery and tracking of ongoing and role-specific training for all staff, including core compliance knowledge and recent changes. It can deliver “compliance alert” training as rules change, tailor content for role relevance, and track completion to ensure accountability. This approach underlines a culture of compliance, which is vital when external guidance fluctuates. Taking the Next Step With concerns over personal liability and reputational fallout from compliance breaches, many financial institution leaders are experiencing the mental toll of “what if we miss something?” Now’s the time to answer that question by assessing your current CMS. Is it equipped for today’s pace of regulatory change? Are your compliance processes both integrated and auditable? Do you have the visibility and controls needed to stay ahead of the risks? Is your CMS agile enough to adapt to new rules quickly? If any of these questions raise concerns, consider bringing in experienced advisors for a CMS assessment. They can review your compliance program, help identify potential gaps and explore solutions that will ensure both day-to-day and long-term regulatory success. Compliance today is more than just meeting deadlines — it’s about confidently navigating the complexities of tomorrow. A strong CMS is a vital tool in keeping your financial institution ahead of evolving expectations. Read more insights from our trusted advisors at Plante Moran by scanning the QR code. https://www.plantemoran.com/exploreour-thinking?utm_source=cba2025&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=PEN-FSG-2025_CBA Colorado Banker 10
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