Entries by Mitchell Atkins, CRCP

Atkins in Forbes: Email and Social Media Compliance

Last month in New York, I was invited to speak with a group of broker-dealer compliance staff at an event about email and social media compliance. More specifically, and to be technically correct, we call this “supervision of electronic communications” and you can read all about it in FINRA Rule 3110(b)(4). There, I had the opportunity […]

Electronic Communication “Let’s Talk Supervision”

Compliance risks exist in your electronic communication. How will you effectively manage these risks? With the volume and velocity of information flowing through electronic communications channels, supervision has become a real challenge. Mitch Atkins presented at the Actiance Executive Briefing Series in New York on April 7, 2016 on how organizations can leverage their electronic […]

Email Flagging Keywords Out of Date?

Do you Update your Email Flagging Keywords? It is important to remember to periodically update your email flagging keywords if you use a monitoring system for electronic communications. Those systems, while powerful, are only as good as the dictionary of email flagging keywords used to call out a communication for review. Broker-dealers are required to […]

FINRA Membership Application Rules Retrospective – FirstMark’s Summary

  Check out the article written by FirstMark’s founder, Mitch Atkins, on LinkedIn summarizing the comments received in response to the FINRA Membership Application Rules Retrospective. This retrospective is a look back at the FINRA Membership Application Rules and further a request to the public for comment on what might be changed about the rules and […]

Mitch Atkins to Discuss CCO Liability at ACFCS Financial Crime Conference in New York City

Mitch Atkins, founder of FirstMark Regulatory Solutions, is presenting at the Association for Certified Financial Crime Specialists (AFCFS) 2015 Financial Crime Conference on Tuesday, April 21, 2015.  Atkins will participate as a panelist on the Financial Crime Landscape for the Securities Industry panel and will discuss recent trends in chief compliance officer (CCO) and anti-money […]

FirstMark Regulatory Solutions Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary

January 2015 marks the one year anniversary of FirstMark Regulatory Solutions’ entry into regulatory compliance consulting.  FirstMark offers specialized compliance consulting services to FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealers.  Services offered to clients include:  FINRA New Member Applications (NMA), FINRA Continuation of Membership Applications (CMA), anti-money laundering (AML) independent testing, supervisory controls testing, litigation support services, […]

Mitch Atkins Presents at FINRA South Region Compliance Seminar

Mitch Atkins, founder and principal of FirstMark Regulatory Solutions, will present at the FINRA South Region Compliance Seminar in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on November 20, 2014.  Atkins will present as a panelist on FINRA’s Suitability panel. The panel will discuss the FINRA Suitability Rule (Rule 2111), and in particular, the suitability of variable annuity L-shares […]

FirstMark founder Mitch Atkins – Panelist at the 3rd Annual Life Equity Roundtable

FirstMark Regulatory Solutions founder and principal, Mitch Atkins, will participate as a panelist at the 3rd Annual Life Equity Roundtable in Aurora, Ohio on July 16, 2014.  The session, titled Variable Transactions Panel, covers various aspects of variable life settlements and the regulatory requirements for transactions involving these products.  The Roundtable will be attended by […]