Reflections on the future of broker-dealer compliance

The chapter speculates about the future challenges and developments facing compliance in the brokerage industry. First, much of compliance’s future depends upon the future of the brokerage industry itself, which has seen a steady shrinkage in the number of broker-dealers. Second, compliance in broker-dealers, as in organizations in general, is affected by the related pressures of cost and technology, which could reduce the number of compliance officers as compliance tasks are automated. Third and finally, there is a growing behavioral and organizational literature explaining misconduct in organizations with which compliance officers should familiarize themselves because it could prove useful to them when they design compliance programs and advocate for compliance policies and strategies in broker-dealers.