Reducing Compliance Review Time

Executive Summary

A £2bn AUM award-winning wealth manager, is known for the quality, depth and consistency of its compliance review process. With rising regulatory expectations and a growing client base, it sought to reinforce the strength of its framework while improving efficiency.

Working with Head of Compliance, Palindrome developed and deployed a fine-tuned compliance assistant built around client’s existing methodology. The approach reduced file review four times from more than two hours to approximately 30 minutes, while maintaining company’s standards for accuracy, fairness and clarity.

‍

Client Background

The client has built its reputation on responsible investing, client-centric advice and a commitment to high-quality outcomes. The firm’s compliance standards exceed regulatory requirements, with awards and certifications reflecting that focus.

The compliance team’s methodology is thorough, structured and central to firm’s ability to deliver consistently strong advice. As the business continued to grow, the leadership recognised that strengthening evidence traceability and reducing manual review work would support its long-term commitment to quality and oversight.

‍

Business Opportunity

The client approached this programme with clear objectives:

• Support reviewers by reducing time spent locating, validating and cross-referencing evidence
• Improve the traceability of each conclusion
• Maintain consistency across reviewers without diminishing individual expertise
• Scale a high-quality compliance process as volumes increase

The goal was not to replace human judgment, but to improve the tools available to reviewers so they could focus on interpretation and outcomes.

‍

Solution Approach

1. Developed in Close Partnership With Firm’s Compliance Leadership

Palindrome worked directly with Head of Compliance to ensure the system matched firm’s framework, interpretive guidance and expectations for quality.

‍

2. A Fine-Tuned Compliance Assistant Based on firm’s Methodology

• Reflects company’s proprietary structure and checklists
• Surfaces evidence and links back to the underlying source
• Provides reviewers with clarity rather than replacing judgment

‍

3. Transparent Human-in-the-Loop Workflow

• The assistant produces a structured assessment
• Reviewers apply final decisions based on their expertise
• Ensures consistency while preserving the firm’s high-touch approach

‍

4. Quick Deployment and Continuous Improvement

Within a short period, the client had a high-accuracy review tool that continues to evolve through real reviewer feedback and regulatory developments.

‍

Results and Impact

The Company achieved significant operational and quality improvements:

‍

Faster Reviews With No Loss of Rigor

Review time reduced from more than two hours to approximately 30 minutes, allowing reviewers to focus on analysis rather than manual search.

‍

Improved Evidence Traceability

Evidence is clearly surfaced from documents, and each conclusion is supported by verifiable data.

‍

More Effective Use of Reviewer Expertise

Manual steps are reduced, allowing compliance specialists to dedicate more time to judgement and interpretation.

‍

Greater Consistency Across the Process

Reviews become more uniform across reviewers, supporting scalability and maintaining high internal standards.

‍

Lessons Learned

• Co-design with compliance specialists is essential for accuracy and adoption
• Placing human judgment at the centre builds trust and supports higher-quality decisions
• Traceability matters as much as speed: clear evidence improves both audit confidence and internal oversight
• Continuous iteration strengthens performance over time and keeps pace with regulatory expectations

‍

Next Steps

The Company plans to build on this foundation by:

• Extending the assistant to additional review types
• Integrating with case management systems
• Exploring predictive indicators for emerging risk
• Considering adviser oversight and suitability checks within the same framework

‍