The Record - Issue 19: Winter 2020

105 F I NANC I A L S E R V I C E S V I EWPO I NT Surveillance, compliance and communication DAV E AC K E RMAN , E SQ : N I C E Organisations can reap business rewards by ensuring new communication channels adhere to existing regulatory obligations T he way the world communicates has fun- damentally changed as a result of Covid-19 and various quarantine protocols. There is perhaps no greater evidence of this than in finan- cial services. To maintain continuity of service to their clients, business units quickly adopted unified communications into their sales pro- cesses, trading operations and back-office activ- ities. Seemingly overnight, expensive lunches, in-person meetings and networking events were replaced by Microsoft Teams video calls. The sudden adaptation created a significant challenge – how to allow for new communication channels while adhering to existing regulatory recording obligations. In an impressive show of resilience, compliance teams all over the globe are successfully implementing omnichannel Teams recording programs to ensure effective operations, maintain market stability and adhere to their var- ious books and records obligations. As the indus- try continues to acclimatise to this new normal of doing business, another question emerges. Now that we can record video, what do we do with it? Compliance procedures designed to surveil for malfeasance traditionally look at market data, trade data, voice and e-comms (chat and email). The policies, analytics and technology created around those data points are well-established, but since widespread use of video communication is a new phenomenon, its incorporation into legacy policies and procedures is non-existent. Compliance exec- utives are now faced with the monumental task of incorporating video into their holistic surveillance capabilities. To make the mission less daunting, compliance executives should internally review the following three key considerations to incorporate video into their routine compliance process. A firm’s first step is a regulatory analysis, with a particular focus on developing a risk-based approach and a clear strategy. Consider questions related to records requirements and jurisdictional differences. Firms must then evaluate data privacy concerns. In Europe for example, it is paramount to define what parameters trigger a necessary, lawful basis to review recordings. Lastly, firms must examine challenges associated with data storage and capacity. Consider questions relating to where data centres are physically located and how data deletion is controlled. Video communication seems universally recog- nised as a necessary tool for doing business in ‘The New Normal’. The ability to capture that video has been resolved and now the mission begins to use video effectively for monitoring purposes. Using the starting points above, compliance teams can add a powerful new tool to their surveillance capabilities while maintaining the communica- tion tool for business operations. Dave Ackerman, Esq. is a regulatory and compliance expert at NICE “Compliance executives are now faced with the monumental task of incorporating video into their holistic surveillance capabilities”