Mortgage
Steps to Take if Your Client Has Received a Consent Order
Articles by: Richey May, Jun 22, 2020
Law firms that serve mortgage clients may have encountered consent orders. Typically, mortgage companies with a consent order are required to find a CPA to perform a third-party audit within 30 days.
Mortgage companies often look to their trusted legal partners to determine their next move. Here are some steps legal counsel can take to help their clients resolve their consent order.
Understand the deadlines and requirements.
As mentioned, typically agencies require the mortgage company to engage a third-party audit with a CPA within 30 days. However, deadlines may vary, so be sure your client understand what is required and how they need to notify the agency to be compliant.
Find a trusted audit partner.
Our audit team is specialized in the mortgage industry, so we understand the ins and outs of consent order compliance and reporting. Make sure your clients have a great relationship with their audit partner, can expect proactive (and secure) communication and that the auditor meets all agency requirements.
Prepare your client for the public release of the information.
Consent orders are released by the agencies and are a matter of public record. Your client will be concerned about reputational damage, particularly with compliance issues related to customer,
employee or vendor data. Your audit partner should be able to help you meet required communications standards for certain disclosures.
Encourage ongoing compliance.
Usually clients get a consent order after two to three warnings relevant to a particular compliance issue. Therefore, they have been struggling with this particular issue for some time and may need extra help to refine their process to comply. Your clients may need ongoing audit support or a specialty service like cybersecurity or GRCP services.
Consent orders can cause your clients a lot of stress, especially if they are already going through process, market or leadership changes. We’re here to help! Our audit team has years of experience helping mortgage companies with audit services that build value. Contact us today to learn more.