Research from Professional Planner and Wealth Data (May 2025) confirms that licensee compliance spend is declining, with cuts to both internal teams and outsourced providers. At the same time, regulatory scrutiny remains steady, if not increasing.
In times of reduced spending, value is about relevance, not volume. Compliance managers who align their work with commercial outcomes, demonstrate foresight, and simplify complexity will not only protect the business but also grow their influence within it.
This guide outlines actionable strategies to help you protect your licensee, empower your advisers, and prove the ongoing value of compliance, even with fewer resources.
Enhance Monitoring and Supervision
What the research shows: Many licensees lack robust monitoring policies and conduct reviews only once every two years—a serious risk in today’s regulatory climate.
How to add value:
- Develop clear, documented supervision frameworks that assign ownership, frequency, and escalation pathways.
- Shift from reactive audits to real-time or quarterly reviews, using adviser risk ratings to tailor focus.
- Embed compliance checks into workflows so advisers are empowered to manage compliance at the front line.
Empowerment Opportunity: Equip advisers with simple self-assessment tools to spot risks early, reducing the need for top-down intervention.
Focus on High-Risk Compliance Areas
Key areas highlighted in the research:
- Breach Reporting: Larger licensees are under-reporting breaches—exposing themselves to potential ASIC action.
- Cybersecurity: Many firms still lack a formal cyber policy, despite rising digital threats.
How to add value:
- Ensure staff understand what constitutes a reportable breach, and how to escalate it. Make it easy, not intimidating.
- Develop a fit-for-purpose cybersecurity policy, and run annual risk simulations or table-top exercises.
Empowerment Opportunity: Train staff to identify and report breaches confidently, reinforcing a speak-up culture that values accountability.
Leverage Technology to Scale Impact
What the research shows: AI is gaining traction for minute-taking, document reviews, and compliance monitoring—improving efficiency without increasing headcount.
How to add value:
- Use AI to automate repetitive tasks like policy attestation, SOA checks, or CPD tracking.
- Apply data analytics to uncover patterns in adviser behaviour, breach trends, or training needs.
Empowerment Opportunity: Give advisers dashboards that help them track their own compliance metrics—turning monitoring into a tool for self-improvement, not punishment.
Improve Communication and Training
Why it matters: In a leaner compliance environment, education replaces enforcement. Advisers must understand rules well enough to self-manage.
How to add value:
- Deliver targeted training (short videos, lunch & learns, or scenario-based modules) on hot topics like product replacement, client best interest duty, or FDS renewal.
- Simplify compliance updates. Turn complex regulatory changes into 1-pagers or checklists that advisers can action.
Empowerment Opportunity: Help advisers become compliance-capable professionals who own their obligations—not just recipients of oversight.
Optimize Compliance Resources
What the research shows: Spending is down on both internal teams and external compliance consultants. Many licensees are choosing smaller, hybrid operating models.
How to add value:
- Audit your compliance processes to identify tasks that can be automated, streamlined, or outsourced.
- Prioritize high-risk, high-impact areas—don’t waste resources treating all tasks equally.
- If outsourcing, choose partners who offer scalable, tech-enabled services.
Empowerment Opportunity: Involve your compliance team in redesigning their workflows, enabling them to take ownership of efficiency and innovation.
Strengthen Conflicts of Interest Governance
What the research shows: Despite licensees claiming “no conflicts,” most lack a conflict of interest policy or register, leaving them exposed.
How to add value:
- Establish a formal conflicts of interest policy, even if no current issues are apparent.
- Maintain a conflict register, updated via annual declarations and event-based reviews.
Empowerment Opportunity: Show advisers how managing conflicts builds trust and transparency, not just ticks a regulatory box
Shift from Oversight to Partnership
Instead of a top-down approach, compliance managers should act as internal consultants:
- Help advisers design compliant business models.
- Offer proactive “health checks” instead of reactive audits.
- Be accessible—invite questions, not just issue warnings.
Empowerment Opportunity: Make compliance part of everyday adviser thinking—not just a back-office process.
Final Thought: Lead Compliance from the Front
In today’s climate, compliance is no longer just about meeting minimum obligations—it’s about enabling high-quality advice delivery at scale. By embracing data, simplifying training, and empowering advisers, you’ll not only meet your obligations—you’ll transform compliance from a cost centre to a strategic partner.
“The compliance manager of the future is not a gatekeeper—they’re an architect of sustainable, ethical advice businesses.” — Adapted from May 2025 Professional Planner research.
