How compliance leaders are deciding what AI can handle, what people still need to own, and what SEC and FINRA will expect them to prove

Description

The compliance function at large US financial firms is being reshaped by AI and automation. Compliance teams at RIAs, broker-dealers, and dual registrants are using automation across many parts of their day-to-day work, including communications surveillance, marketing review, employee trading checks, regulatory reporting, testing, exam preparation, and documentation. The pace is accelerating as generative AI and AI agents move into more workflows. At the same time, regulators are paying closer attention to how firms use these tools. The SEC's 2026 Examination Priorities call out firms' use of AI, automated tools, and trading algorithms, with a focus on supervision and controls. FINRA's 2026 oversight report adds new guidance on GenAI and AI agents, covering governance, validation, documentation, and human-in-the-loop review. The SEC has also intensified scrutiny of the Marketing Rule and broadened recordkeeping expectations across communication channels. This raises a question that senior compliance leaders are working through right now: what can be automated in compliance, and what cannot? Some compliance work is rules-based and repeatable, and software handles it cleanly. Other work still depends on human judgment, supervisory responsibility, and personal accountability. The roundtable will focus on which parts of compliance can safely move to AI, which parts still need human judgment, and what compliance leaders still need to own as automation takes over more reviewing, monitoring, and documentation.

Speakers

Kevin Ehrlich

Managing Director and Associate General Counsel, Asset Management Group, SIFMA

Lior Keshet

Partner, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, IEQ Capital