2025 FINRA CAT Playbook: 6 Essential WSP Controls for Stronger CAT Compliance

 

Staying ahead of Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) Compliance is no longer optional — it’s a mission-critical priority for every broker-dealer. With FINRA increasing its scrutiny and tightening expectations, firms must ensure they are reporting accurately, completely, and on time. In 2025, even small gaps in your FINRA CAT reporting can trigger inquiries, audits, or deeper surveillance reviews.

But which areas of your firm’s Written Supervisory Procedures (WSPs) attract the most regulatory attention? Below are the top CAT WSP areas FINRA is focusing on — and how a purpose-built solution like RSMS (Regulatory Surveillance and Management System) helps firms enhance their CAT compliance posture with confidence and control.

Let’s dive in.

1. Correct CAT Reporting

Accuracy is the foundation of Consolidated Audit Trail compliance, yet it remains a common pain point. FINRA CAT exams often uncover:

  • Unclear reporting workflows in WSPs — leading to gaps in how data is validated.
  • No standardized data accuracy checks, causing inconsistent submissions.
  • Insufficient staff training on CAT requirements and formatting rules.

Even seemingly small issues like timestamp misalignments or incorrect customer identifiers can prompt a FINRA inspection.

How RSMS Supports Correct Reporting

RSMS enhances reporting accuracy through:

  • Clear CAT reporting guidance mapped to every required field.
  • Robust data validation engines comparing submissions to source records.
  • Insightful dashboards highlighting discrepancies and accuracy risks.

With RSMS, firms minimize reporting errors and reduce unnecessary regulatory scrutiny.

2. Complete CAT Reporting

Completeness means every required detail is captured — no missing events, no gaps.

Common WSP deficiencies include:

  • Weak or missing reconciliation processes.
  • Risk-prone manual review workflows.
  • Failure to identify inconsistencies before submission.

FINRA expects firms to reconcile data in advance to ensure all trading activity is fully reported.

How RSMS Ensures Complete Reporting

RSMS strengthens completeness with:

  • Pre-submission reconciliation tools detecting missing data.
  • Advanced anomaly detection to catch mismatches early.
  • Unified data consolidation, so nothing falls through the cracks.

RSMS gives firms total visibility and control over all reporting components.

3. On-Time FINRA CAT Delivery

Timeliness reflects operational readiness. But firms often struggle with:

  • Delays in processing or transforming raw trading data.
  • Report-under-pressure workflows instead of planned cycles.
  • No contingency protocols for system failures or resource issues.

Missed reporting deadlines almost always draw regulatory attention.

How RSMS Achieves 100% On-Time Delivery

RSMS is engineered for timely CAT submissions through:

  • Optimized workflows that streamline data processing.
  • Deadline monitoring with proactive alerts and bottleneck indicators.
  • Built-in fail-safes ensuring continuity during unexpected disruptions.

Firms using RSMS confidently meet all FINRA CAT submission timelines.

4. CAT Error Corrections

Correcting CAT errors isn’t enough — FINRA wants proof of preventive controls and root-cause analysis.


WSP shortcomings often include:

  • Incomplete or missing error logs.
  • Reactive correction processes.
  • No frameworks for analyzing recurring error patterns.

Even low error rates can raise concerns if not properly documented.

How RSMS Improves Error Correction

RSMS offers:

  • Pre-submission error detection, reducing post-submission corrections.
  • Detailed error logs with timestamps and resolution notes.
  • Root-cause analysis workflows to prevent repeat issues.

Firms using RSMS achieve industry-leading error rates — as low as 0.001%.

5. Regulatory Inquiries & FINRA CAT Requests

Regulatory inquiries test a firm’s ability to retrieve, analyze, and submit CAT records quickly.

Challenges include:

  • Fragmented data across multiple systems.
  • Slow internal turnaround times.
  • Lack of complete documentation for inquiry responses.

Regulators expect fast, precise, and transparent replies.

How RSMS Simplifies Regulatory Inquiries

RSMS empowers teams with:

  • Centralized CAT and transaction data in a single compliance warehouse.
  • Inquiry response tools generating regulator-ready reports within hours.
  • Thorough documentation stored automatically for audit trails.

RSMS helps firms demonstrate exceptional transparency and readiness.

6. Comparative Reviews: FINRA’s New Focus

FINRA is increasingly using peer benchmarking to assess firm performance. Difficulties surface when firms have:

  • Disjointed or incomplete performance data.
  • No benchmarking or trend-tracking tools.
  • Overwhelming volumes of trade data with no analytic structure.

Falling behind peers can create red flags.

How RSMS Keeps Firms Ahead

RSMS addresses comparative review requirements with:

  • Integrated trade analytics from all platforms.
  • Peer benchmarking dashboards to measure CAT performance.
  • Actionable insights for closing compliance gaps proactively.

Firms stay ahead of trends and out of regulatory trouble.

RSMS: Your Strategic Partner for Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) Compliance

Mastering FINRA CAT compliance in 2025 requires the right tools, structure, and oversight. RSMS empowers firms through:

  • Accurate reporting with validated, discrepancy-free data.
  • Complete submissions with no missing fields.
  • On-time CAT delivery, every cycle.
  • Industry-best error reduction and correction workflows.
  • Rapid regulatory inquiry responses from a centralized data system.
  • Proactive analytics that keep firms ahead of regulatory trends.

With RSMS, firms eliminate manual inefficiencies, reduce compliance risk, and operate with full regulatory confidence.

Future-proof your FINRA CAT compliance. Strengthen your WSPs.
Partner with Capital Market Solutions and simplify CAT reporting — from start to finish.

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