Financial firms who are members of FINRA need to select a vendor that understands their unique needs, while keeping the overall cost of compliance down. There are three key requirements FINRA members need to look for in a vendor to help them outsource the long-term archiving of data in compliance with SEC rules.
1. Archiving Various Data Types
When selecting a vendor to outsource the long-term archiving of electronic records, small financial firms need a provider that can backup and retain a wide range of data types. Ensuring they meet the requirements outline in SEC/FINRA rule 17a-3 in conjunction with rule 17-4, they must take into account data contained in the Books and Records, systems configuration, and all communications such as email, instant messaging and social media. In addition, the vendor must be able to retain the original data formats so that historical records can be accessed by compliance officers and auditors at any time.
Essentially, when a member of FINRA seeks a vendor to help them with the long-term archiving of data, it is important that the provider fully understand current and historical data must be accessed using old legacy systems. This is not only important for on-going compliance reviews, but also during audits. So firms will find it beneficial to be able to provide auditors with archiving data in formats that can be easily read, and in essence, this will speed up the auditing process and ensure FINRA staff are out the door quickly.
2. Retention of Data in Non-rewritable Format
Once the proper formats of data are being archived and made accessible to auditors and compliance offices, FINRA firms need to be sure the data is stored on non-rewriteable media, also known as Worm storage. This is hard disk used by the provider that is storing the historical data on disk technology prevents the deleting or overwriting of data. This is a critical component of SEC data retention rules, and FINRA members must ensure they are using a provider that has implemented WORM disk to store their data.
3. Quick Recoverability
It is important that FINRA members select a vendor that can recover all current and archived data within a timely manner, usually within 48 hrs. This is an important aspect of the FINRA Business Continuity Planning (BCP) process and should be a feature included with the vendor's service. Often, archiving vendors will have several methods to allow for the recoverably of customers data, depending on the severity of the failure.
For example, if systems are temporarily down due to a minor disaster, the vendor should offer a web interface access to archived data so customers can still view data in the interim while the systems are being recovered; in the event of a major disaster, the vendor should be able to make a full copy of its customer's data on a removable drive and drop ship it to any location so the customers can fully recovery at a secondary disaster site.
The Business Continuity Planning (BCP) requirement is closely connect to the long-term archiving of data. Ensuring the same vendor who is performing the long-term archiving of data can also recovery the data in the event of a disaster is key to simplifying the data compliance strategy, it will also help to keep the costs down and speed up the auditing process.
Summary
Small financial firms need to outsource the long-term archiving of electronic records for compliance. Because of the lack of in-house expertise, they need to find a vendor who understands their unique requirements and can retain the data in the proper format and make it readily available in the event of a disaster or during audits. Choosing the right provider is critical to keeping the cost down and simplifying the process, failing to assign the proper third party can be costly and result in audit failure, large fines and untimely impact customer confidence
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6684915
1. Archiving Various Data Types
When selecting a vendor to outsource the long-term archiving of electronic records, small financial firms need a provider that can backup and retain a wide range of data types. Ensuring they meet the requirements outline in SEC/FINRA rule 17a-3 in conjunction with rule 17-4, they must take into account data contained in the Books and Records, systems configuration, and all communications such as email, instant messaging and social media. In addition, the vendor must be able to retain the original data formats so that historical records can be accessed by compliance officers and auditors at any time.
Essentially, when a member of FINRA seeks a vendor to help them with the long-term archiving of data, it is important that the provider fully understand current and historical data must be accessed using old legacy systems. This is not only important for on-going compliance reviews, but also during audits. So firms will find it beneficial to be able to provide auditors with archiving data in formats that can be easily read, and in essence, this will speed up the auditing process and ensure FINRA staff are out the door quickly.
2. Retention of Data in Non-rewritable Format
Once the proper formats of data are being archived and made accessible to auditors and compliance offices, FINRA firms need to be sure the data is stored on non-rewriteable media, also known as Worm storage. This is hard disk used by the provider that is storing the historical data on disk technology prevents the deleting or overwriting of data. This is a critical component of SEC data retention rules, and FINRA members must ensure they are using a provider that has implemented WORM disk to store their data.
3. Quick Recoverability
It is important that FINRA members select a vendor that can recover all current and archived data within a timely manner, usually within 48 hrs. This is an important aspect of the FINRA Business Continuity Planning (BCP) process and should be a feature included with the vendor's service. Often, archiving vendors will have several methods to allow for the recoverably of customers data, depending on the severity of the failure.
For example, if systems are temporarily down due to a minor disaster, the vendor should offer a web interface access to archived data so customers can still view data in the interim while the systems are being recovered; in the event of a major disaster, the vendor should be able to make a full copy of its customer's data on a removable drive and drop ship it to any location so the customers can fully recovery at a secondary disaster site.
The Business Continuity Planning (BCP) requirement is closely connect to the long-term archiving of data. Ensuring the same vendor who is performing the long-term archiving of data can also recovery the data in the event of a disaster is key to simplifying the data compliance strategy, it will also help to keep the costs down and speed up the auditing process.
Summary
Small financial firms need to outsource the long-term archiving of electronic records for compliance. Because of the lack of in-house expertise, they need to find a vendor who understands their unique requirements and can retain the data in the proper format and make it readily available in the event of a disaster or during audits. Choosing the right provider is critical to keeping the cost down and simplifying the process, failing to assign the proper third party can be costly and result in audit failure, large fines and untimely impact customer confidence
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6684915
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