Practice question, Examination process
Who at the firm takes the examination announcement call, who routes and tracks the initial request for information, and who owns the written response if a deficiency letter arrives?
Taft practice question: not an official regulator question. SEC Division of Examinations, United States (federal). For SEC-registered investment advisers, Broker-dealers. Evidence category: Governance records.
Not legal advice. A practice prompt for rehearsing how your team explains its controls and evidence. No scoring, no model answer, no implication that a regulator will ask these words.
Authored by Taft. Last checked 2026-11-09. All questions.
Why it is relevant
The exam handbook says the staff sends a letter formally notifying the firm of the examination with an initial request for information, and that most examinations conclude with a deficiency letter that does not mandate a particular corrective action beyond complying with applicable law.
Sources: [1] Information Requests, [2] Examination Outcomes, disposition letters
Evidence to locate
Suggested, not mandatory. A regulator's actual request list governs.
No evidence cues listed.
Follow-up prompts
Where is the previous examination's correspondence, and who can find it today?
Applicability
- Applies to
- Firms examined by the SEC Division of Examinations. The handbook is a staff statement, not a rule.
- Does not apply to
- Not stated.
Cite
Cite the official source first. Then: Taft Compliance Group, Exam-prep toolkit (draft), question q-exam-process-roles, https://taftcompliance.com/resources/exam-prep-toolkit/questions/q-exam-process-roles, last checked 2026-11-09.
Sources
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Examinations, The SEC Exam Handbook: A Practical Guide on Process and Engagement (staff statement). regulator guidance. Information Requests, page 4.
https://www.sec.gov/files/exam-handbook.pdf
Checked 2026-11-09.
Supporting passage
After the exam is announced, the staff will send a letter formally notifying you of the examination and providing an initial request for information. The request will be made pursuant to the examination authority applicable to your firm, for example, section 204(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 for registered investment advisers. The information request will provide details about how to format and transmit the requested information.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Examinations, The SEC Exam Handbook: A Practical Guide on Process and Engagement (staff statement). regulator guidance. Examination Outcomes, page 9.
https://www.sec.gov/files/exam-handbook.pdf
Checked 2026-11-09.
Supporting passage
We refer to the third type of disposition letter as a deficiency letter. Most examinations conclude with such a letter. Our deficiency letters purposely do not mandate a particular corrective action beyond complying with applicable law.
Changes to this question
No released changes.