The 2026 SEC examination playbook: What financial services firms need to Prove during regulatory reviews

A compliance officer's guide to documentation requirements across policies, vendor management, conflicts of interest and incident response

91% of SEC examinations result in deficiency letters. Only 5% of firms receive "no findings" letters.

In FY2024, the SEC ordered $8.2 billion in financial remedies, including $600 million in penalties for recordkeeping failures alone. The message is clear: compliance intent without documentation evidence is insufficient.

The documentation challenge

When SEC examination staff request evidence of policy distribution, vendor oversight, conflicts of interest management and incident response, firms with manual systems struggle to respond efficiently.

The problem isn't what you're doing—it's how you're documenting it. Compliance policies maintained on department intranets without acknowledgment tracking. Vendor contracts scattered across email folders and shared drives. COI disclosures in spreadsheets without documented review workflows. Incidents handled through email chains without centralized documentation.

Examination preparation extends from days to weeks. Supplemental information requests multiply. Deficiency letters identify documentation gaps, not compliance failures.

What this white paper reveals

This comprehensive guide examines exactly what SEC examiners request during regulatory reviews, why manual documentation systems fail these requests and how financial services organizations are building examination-ready compliance programs.

You'll discover:

• What appears on standard SEC examination request lists and why certain documentation categories appear in virtually every examination
• The four critical documentation areas examiners evaluate: policy governance, vendor and contract management, conflicts of interest oversight and incident response procedures
• Why firms with centralized repositories and automated workflows respond to examination requests in 2-3 days while manual systems require 2-3 weeks
• Real-world scenarios showing how documentation failures transform into deficiency letters—and how systematic approaches prevent them
• The financial case for systematic documentation: organizations implementing these approaches reduce compliance program operating costs by 40-60% while materially improving regulatory outcomes
• Implementation approaches for building examination-ready documentation within your existing Microsoft 365 infrastructure
• Industry statistics on examination outcomes, regulatory penalties and compliance costs demonstrating why documentation readiness matters for business operations and regulatory standing

Who should read this

This white paper is essential for compliance officers, general counsel, chief risk officers and IT directors at financial services firms preparing for SEC examinations or strengthening regulatory compliance programs.

If your organization maintains compliance policies, manages vendor relationships, tracks conflicts of interest or handles regulatory incidents, this guide provides the framework for demonstrating these activities systematically during examinations.

The systematic documentation advantage

Organizations implementing the approaches detailed in this white paper report examination preparation time reductions of 70%, materially improved regulatory outcomes and substantial decreases in compliance program operating costs.

The implementation path is clear: Work within existing Microsoft 365 infrastructure to build centralized repositories, automated workflows and structured documentation. Implementation timelines of 60-90 days enable rapid examination readiness improvements.

Download your free copy today and discover how to transform examination preparedness from reactive documentation assembly to systematic compliance program operation.