How Orion’s Compass App Solves Common Compliance Problems

Today’s regulatory environment is complex. Unfortunately for advisory firms, that complexity only increases from new regulations, and the guidance regulators provide intended to clarify those regulations sometimes only further complicates the issue.

That complexity can create a lot of work for each advisory firm’s designated chief compliance officer (CCO), who is responsible for the firm’s compliance program and staying on top of regulations and changes. Policies and procedures have to be created and maintained to prevent violations. Those policies and procedures need to be tested annually to ensure their effectiveness. And firms must be able to demonstrate how those policies and procedures are put into practice as part of their routine operations.

Piece of cake, right?

Implementing and maintaining a comprehensive compliance program that satisfies shifting requirements and adequately protects a firm, its advisors, and its clients is a tall order.  But it’s not impossible.

While a technology platform can’t develop policies or replace the efforts of your compliance team, the right solution and vendor relationship can help ease the burden of executing an effective and compliant compliance program.

Orion’s Compass App: Designed for Compliance Professionals

Orion’s new Compass app has been designed to become the desktop for our clients’ compliance officers, giving teams the dashboard they need to better track and manage their compliance efforts.

Located in the Orion Connect portfolio accounting platform, Compass contains a suite of capabilities necessary to implement and execute a robust compliance program. And because it’s powered by a firm’s data that’s already stored in Orion, it delivers the detailed information you need to make the most knowledgeable decisions and effectively execute your program.

What You’ll Find in the Compass App

The Compass app has launched with two main tools, the Audit tool and Compliance Corner, as well as an integration with LexisNexis to support automated client screening for known money launderers.

Audit will play an important role in your next regulatory exam because it makes the collection of data from Orion and its integration partners simple and streamlines an otherwise time-consuming and manual process.

Audit allows you to:

  • Quickly and efficiently gather and track regulatory production in one easy to use location
  • Conduct a mock audit of your business and verify compliance with the requirements long before you receive an audit letter

The Audit tool can also be used to conduct quick routine audits of various areas throughout your organization—like your Form ADV, Sub-advisory contracts, client lists, ten most profitable investment decisions, and more—in support of your Compliance Rule obligations.

Compliance Corner retains the best of the functionality of Orion’s previous compliance solution, including providing access to important regulatory documents, as well as the ability to run data queries to assist in populating Form ADV, Part 1A.

The Compliance Corner has also been enhanced as part of the Compass app to enable you to easily archive all reports run in Orion to a secure FTP and capture information required for 13F filing.

Verify, the Compass app’s integration with LexisNexis for AML (anti-money laundering) screening makes it easy for each firm to confirm that none of their clients match a known money launderer. The optional integration automatically screens clients against anti-money laundering lists.*

New enhancements and tools will be coming to the Compass app in the near future, so keep a close eye on the Orion blog for more announcements.

The Compass app is now available for all Orion users. Log into Orion Connect today to try it out!

Learn more about which regulations are impacting advisory firms the most today and how Compass helps in our new white paper. Click here to get your copy.

 *Subject to additional fees.

0187-OAS-4/4/2018