Industry Veteran Nancy McLaughlin Offers a Closer Look at Columbia Ultimate's Compliance Management System

Julie Melton

I recently had the opportunity to chat with industry veteran and Columbia Ultimate’s Director of Business Development Nancy McLaughlin about today’s state of compliance and how the Compliance Management System can help collectors stay compliant.

What changes have you seen in compliance rules and laws over the years and how have those changes affected collectors?

- Ultimately the changes have made us a more professional industry. Several years back the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act) came into place and people in our industry were concerned about it, but what I think it did was weed out good practices versus bad, and gave people in the industry a guide to use in their collections practices. So while the industry may have panicked when it came out, I think we all realized there was a need for it and we all still adhere to it today. The same is true for the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). All of those things have helped us become a very professional industry.

What’s the primary challenge collection agencies face today regarding maintaining compliance?

- In our industry, while we have tried to adhere to what needs to be done, there really hasn’t been a push for a total enterprise compliance system. There are lots of different pieces of compliance, but there hasn’t been anything available that’s pulled it all together. Nothing that tells someone what they need to do in their business to be compliant regarding licensing, policies, training, call monitoring, how to handle complaints, etc. All of those things now become a part of compliance, whereas in the past they were all piecemealed within the company and everyone handled it differently.

Why should collection agencies take a look at the Compliance Management System?

- It’s very crucial in today’s business environment for all collection agencies to have an effective compliance management system in place. The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) is a new entity we have to deal with and we all need to adhere to their guidelines. If for some reason the CFPB is receiving complaints about your agency and feels you are causing customer harm, it doesn’t matter if you have received over $10 million dollars in annual receipts or not, you will fall under their guidelines and you will be supervised by them.

How is the Compliance Management System different from similar products that have been out there before?

- I’m not aware of many total enterprise systems that address compliance management or have been developed and designed to meet the CFPB requirements the way the Compliance Management System does.

How can the Compliance Management System benefit the whole ARM industry?

- The Compliance Management System provides a one-stop-shop for compliance within an organization. What many collectors are currently doing today is somewhat fragmented, in that policies and procedures may be in one location and they may not all be electronic and may not all be visible to the collectors. That fragmentation also often holds true for tracking licensing with the different states, the requirements needed within a state, the system for tracking and auditing vendors or suppliers, etc. All of those different components can be brought together into one location with the Compliance Management System.

How was the Compliance Management System developed?

- There was a Columbia Ultimate client that had designed this solution to be used within his own operation. We saw the value of the solution for the market and joined in a partnership with them to deliver it to the industry.

Is this a solution that can grow and change as compliance rules and laws change?

- The goal for the Compliance Management System is that it will be a hosted solution. It could be deployed on someone’s system, but the primary purpose for it being hosted is that we know it will continue to evolve not only with changes in legislation, but also as our clients ask for enhancements. Being hosted allows us to always be up to speed with what is happening not only with the industry, but also with what our clients are requesting.

What about someone who is new to the industry, will they be able to use the Compliance Management System without an extensive understanding of technology or compliance?

- We have put together a user-friendly, web-based documentation to help clients get on board. Clients will be able to upload their policies, procedures, licenses, and any documentation they might have as well as information on collectors, vendors and suppliers. It’s very hands-on and easy to use and there’s no restriction based on the size of an organization.

What does “powered by the Intelitech Group” mean to consumers?

- Intelitech is going to host the solution therefore it doesn’t matter what software system a collector is using, so we’ll be able to deliver the product to any software provider.

What else should collection agencies know when considering the Compliance Management System?

- There was an article that came out recently by the CFPB on the need for a robust compliance management system. One of the things the article highlighted is employees lacking proper training in legal requirements applicable to their jobs. One of the great things about this product is that it gives agencies a comprehensive way to manage training within their operation. It will let managers know what their collectors have been trained on, if they have taken any tests for training, if they’ve passed, and how often they need to retrain them. It also allows managers to set up any needed training and notify the collector that they are scheduled for training. So it really becomes a total training tool in addition to a compliance tool.

Additionally, with the Compliance Management System agencies will be able to see all the complaints that come in, whether they’re from the CFPB, the Attorney General’s Office, the customer or another source. Managers will be able to see which collector is violating policy or causing complaints, and then be able to re-train them as the system will monitor the specific types of complaint that has occurred.

Columbia Ultimate’s Compliance Management System provides a single point of global control for compliance managers, clients, and regulators when auditing and reviewing an agency’s regulatory compliance controls. The Compliance Management System is hosted and available to all collections industry professionals, including non-Columbia Ultimate users.

insideARM is currently conducting a survey on compliance and complaints management. If you’re in charge of compliance at a collection agency, take the brief survey now for a chance to win $200!