Why now
FINRA's 2026 report
FINRA's 2026 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report has a new section on generative AI and, for the first time, AI agents. It covers supervision, testing, monitoring, hallucinations and agents acting beyond their authority.
Technology-neutral rules
FINRA's rules apply to AI just as they apply to any other tool. Supervision, communications and recordkeeping obligations follow the output, whoever or whatever wrote it.
SEC exam priorities
The SEC Division of Examinations' 2026 priorities include advisers' use of AI and the accuracy of what firms say about it, known as "AI washing."
Start here: AI Governance Readiness Review
A fixed-fee review that gives your firm a documented, defensible AI program.
What you get
- AI use inventory. The AI tools and features your people and vendors actually use, including AI built into email, CRM, research and note-taking software.
- Gap check. Your current controls compared with FINRA's 2026 generative AI guidance and the SEC's 2026 priorities: supervision, testing, monitoring, recordkeeping, cybersecurity and vendor risk, and marketing claims.
- Written AI procedures. An AI chapter for your written supervisory procedures and an acceptable-use policy your people can follow.
- Vendor questions. A due-diligence questionnaire for AI features in the software you buy.
- Remediation plan. Prioritized fixes and a briefing for your principals.
Then: compliance delivered with supervised AI
Our monthly compliance and FINOP subscription pairs decades of hands-on experience with current technology. From $7,500 per month, scaled to your business.
Rule-change monitoring
AI agents watch FINRA and SEC rule changes and flag the ones that affect your firm.
E-communications triage
AI helps sort email and messages for review, so your principals spend their time on what matters.
Filing calendar
Every filing deadline is tracked, from FOCUS reports to annual audits.
First drafts, reviewed by people
AI prepares first drafts of reports and procedure updates. Every output is reviewed by an experienced professional, consistent with FINRA Regulatory Notice 24-09.
Who it's for
Broker-dealers, registered investment advisers and municipal advisors whose people use, or plan to use, AI for writing, research, client communications, surveillance or note-taking, and firms preparing for a FINRA or SEC exam.
Questions firms ask
Can broker-dealers use generative AI?
Yes. FINRA describes its rules as technology neutral, so they apply to AI the same way they apply to any other tool. The firm stays responsible for supervision, communications, recordkeeping and fair dealing when its people use AI.
Do we need written procedures for AI?
FINRA Rule 3110 requires a supervisory system reasonably designed for your business, and that includes the tools your people use. FINRA's 2026 report lists formal policies, review and approval, testing and ongoing monitoring among effective practices for generative AI.
What is "AI washing"?
Overstating how a firm uses AI in its marketing or disclosures. The SEC's 2026 examination priorities include reviewing advisers' representations about AI, and FINRA reminds firms that communications must be fair and balanced.
Are AI chat and meeting-note outputs records we must keep?
They can be. Business communications and certain records must be retained under SEC Rule 17a-4 and FINRA Rule 4511, whatever tool created them. The review identifies which of your AI outputs fall into that category and how to capture them.
Does RND replace our CCO or FINOP?
No. We support your principals. The review gives your CCO a documented AI program to own, and our subscription adds an experienced team, with supervised AI, behind them.
See where your firm stands on AI.
A 20-minute call with Debasish Banerjee, CPA, is enough to scope the review.
Talk to Dave →Sources: FINRA 2026 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report: GenAI · SEC Division of Examinations priorities · FINRA Regulatory Notice 24-09
General information, not legal advice. RND Resources, Inc. is a business consulting firm, not a CPA firm or law firm, and is not affiliated with FINRA or the SEC. Completing the review does not guarantee any regulatory outcome.