What broker-dealers need to know from the 2026 FINRA Annual Conference 

The 2026 FINRA Annual Conference made one thing clear: the regulatory environment for broker-dealers is shifting in ways that will have direct operational and compliance implications for the rest of the year and beyond. If prior years focused heavily on enforcement, cybersecurity, and emerging risk areas, this year’s conference introduced another concept that may shape the future regulatory landscape: harmonization. Alongside that, artificial intelligence and FINRA’s evolving examination program dominated the agenda, and together, these themes carry meaningful consequences for how firms manage compliance today.

The harmonization of regulation

Across multiple keynote sessions, regulators signaled a growing interest in reducing duplicative oversight and increasing coordination between the SEC, CFTC, and FINRA, with discussions touching on coordinated examinations, streamlined reporting obligations, and potential collaborative rulemaking tied to crypto assets and broader market structure issues.

The SEC also signaled that it is reexamining the accredited investor standard, suggesting that additional discussions around access to private markets and investor qualification requirements may be on the horizon. For firms active in private placements or alternative investments, this is a space worth monitoring closely.

Taken together, the keynote sessions suggested that the regulatory direction ahead may not necessarily involve less regulation, but rather more coordinated regulation, clearer jurisdictional boundaries, and increased harmonization between federal agencies and FINRA, a shift that broker-dealers operating across multiple regulatory regimes should be preparing for now.

AI compliance in financial services: What firms need to do now

Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging technology or future consideration. The tone across multiple sessions made it clear that AI adoption is already underway throughout the financial services industry, with firms actively integrating AI tools into operations, surveillance, communications, marketing, customer service, and internal productivity functions.

What stands out most is the speed at which firms are moving. In many cases, business units appear eager to implement AI-driven solutions as quickly as possible to remain competitive and improve efficiency. For compliance departments, however, the challenge is to learn how to balance innovation with appropriate governance and risk management.

A consistent takeaway from the AI-focused sessions was that compliance professionals increasingly need to play the role of devil’s advocate during the adoption process. While firms understandably focus on the opportunities AI creates, compliance teams must focus on the secondary and downstream risks that can emerge when these tools are implemented without sufficient governance and controls.

AI adoption introduces a specific set of compliance risks that firms need to be actively managing: data privacy, books and records retention, supervision of AI-generated communications, vendor management, and model accuracy. Perhaps most importantly, firms risk creating regulatory exposure simply by moving faster than their own policies, procedures, and supervisory frameworks can keep up and in many cases, that gap already exists.

Successful implementation will require legal, compliance, cybersecurity, and supervisory stakeholders to be involved early in the process rather than after deployment decisions have already been made.

Regulators have signaled that their own frameworks are adapting as AI adoption expands, which means firms that build flexible, documented AI governance structures now will be ahead of the curve when clearer guidance arrives. For management and compliance departments, that means conducting a policy and procedure inventory against current AI use, establishing a vendor risk framework for third-party AI tools, and ensuring that books and records obligations are being met for AI-generated communications. The firms best positioned will be those that treat AI governance as an ongoing compliance function, not a one-time implementation checklist.

FINRA’s evolving examination program

One of the more practical discussions at the conference centered on FINRA’s continuing “FINRA Forward” initiative and the organization’s efforts to make examinations more targeted, efficient, and transparent for member firms.

Based on the session, FINRA appears to be making a genuine effort to move away from the historical “one size fits all” examination model. Much of the discussion focused on better firm segmentation and risk-based examinations, with firms increasingly categorized by business model and activity type. The stated goal is to better align examination scope and requests with the actual risks presented by a particular firm.

The discussion also highlighted several process changes intended to improve communication and transparency with firms. FINRA noted that cycle examinations are increasingly being announced further in advance, with firms being notified of the expected examination quarter before receiving a formal start date. Panelists also encouraged firms to maintain open dialogue with examination teams early in the process to ensure both sides are aligned on the purpose and scope of requests.

Another development worth noting for member firms is FINRA’s Preliminary Findings Notification (PFN) process, which allows firms to receive findings in near real time during an examination rather than waiting until the conclusion of the exam. The goal is to allow firms to provide additional context, submit supplemental documentation, and potentially remediate issues while the exam is ongoing.

While firms will likely continue debating whether examinations truly become less burdensome in practice, the overall tone of the session suggested that FINRA recognizes longstanding industry frustrations around exam scope, timing, and document production and appears sincere in its efforts to make examinations more focused and risk based moving forward.

Stay ahead of what’s next

Kaufman Rossin works alongside broker dealers, RIAs, and financial services firms to help firms navigate a rapidly evolving regulatory environment. From examination preparedness and AI governance reviews which includes Risk Assessments and AI Framework implementation, compliance program assessments and ongoing advisory support, our team focuses on delivering practical guidance tailored to each firm’s unique business and regulatory profile. Contact us to discuss how we can help your firm navigate what’s ahead.