Streamlining CAT Reporting: How RSMS Enhances FINRA CAT and CAIS Compliance

 

In today’s fast-evolving regulatory landscape, broker-dealers are under increasing pressure to ensure accuracy and transparency in their trade and account reporting. With the expansion of FINRA CAT and FINRA CAIS requirements, firms must adopt smarter tools to maintain compliance, avoid penalties, and keep up with regulatory expectations.

Capital Market Solutions (CMS) addresses these challenges head-on with its Regulatory Surveillance and Management System (RSMS) — a purpose-built platform designed to streamline Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) Compliance and enhance operational visibility through advanced comparative review features.

The Growing Complexity of FINRA CAT and CAIS Requirements

The Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) initiative by FINRA and the SEC is one of the most ambitious surveillance systems in the financial services industry. It requires firms to submit detailed, time-sequenced data on orders, quotes, trades, and customer accounts. In parallel, FINRA CAIS mandates accurate reporting of customer and account-level information for linkage to CAT events.

Errors in these submissions — whether from mismatches, timing issues, or incorrect firm-designated IDs — can lead to enforcement actions, regulatory inquiries, or reputational damage. Manual tracking and fragmented processes are no longer sustainable, especially for high-volume or multi-platform environments.

Enter RSMS: An Intelligent Solution for CAT and CAIS Oversight

The Regulatory Surveillance and Management System (RSMS) by Capital Market Solutions is engineered to help firms meet FINRA CAT and CAIS requirements with efficiency, precision, and scalability.

Key Features of RSMS:

  • Comparative Review Engine: Automatically compares data from order management systems, CAT submissions, and internal records to identify gaps and mismatches.
  • Real-Time Alerts: Flagging discrepancies early, before they become audit issues.
  • Audit Trails: Provides full traceability and documentation for internal reviews and regulatory exams.
  • Cross-Team Accessibility: Bridges the gap between compliance, operations, and IT teams.

This powerful tool helps eliminate the guesswork from CAT reporting and brings a proactive approach to error correction.

Seamless Integration with CAIS-Connect

To further support Customer Account Information System (CAIS) compliance, CMS integrates RSMS with its specialized platform — CAIS-Connect.

https://capmarketsolutions.com/streamlining-cat-reporting-rsmss-new-approach-to-comparative-reviews/

What is CAIS-Connect?

CAIS-Connect is an end-to-end solution that:

  • Tracks submission statuses and correction cycles
  • Validates firm-designated IDs and linkages
  • Monitors feedback from FINRA in real time
  • Offers dashboards for at-a-glance CAIS reporting health

Together, RSMS + CAIS-Connect form a unified system that covers both trade and account-level compliance, reducing the risk of failed linkages and incomplete reporting.

Why Comparative Reviews Matter

Comparative reviews are critical in identifying systemic issues, such as:

  • Mismatches between CAT events and internal trade records
  • Missing customer IDs or mislinked accounts in CAIS
  • Recurring errors from specific systems or departments

RSMS automates this process, giving firms the ability to pinpoint the root cause of recurring errors and improve their compliance posture over time.

Future-Proofing Your Compliance Program

Regulators are demanding more transparency, and firms that rely on spreadsheets or partial automation are at a competitive disadvantage. By implementing RSMS, firms can:

  • Reduce manual workload and risk exposure
  • Strengthen internal controls and data quality
  • Speed up response time during regulatory audits or exams

Whether you’re a clearing firm, introducing broker, or trading platform provider, RSMS is built to scale with your operations and reporting volume.

Conclusion: Make Compliance Smarter, Not Harder

In an era where regulatory expectations are only increasing, firms need more than just reporting tools — they need intelligent systems that can analyze, reconcile, and evolve.

Capital Market Solutions’ RSMS and CAIS-Connect provide a comprehensive framework for FINRA CAT and FINRA CAIS compliance, ensuring that firms are always one step ahead.

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