Fractional CCO & RIA Compliance Services for Small Firms

A fractional chief compliance officer provides experienced compliance leadership on a flexible basis rather than as a full-time employee. The role can include advising executives and boards, overseeing compliance priorities, developing governance structures, coordinating risk assessments, improving policies and procedures, and preparing the firm for audits or regulatory reviews. The scope is tailored to the firm’s operating model and risk profile.

A consultant may deliver a defined project, such as a risk assessment or policy update. A fractional CCO provides ongoing leadership and accountability across the compliance function. This can include regular executive reporting, strategic guidance, program oversight, and help prioritizing remediation work. Many small firms use a fractional CCO when they need senior continuity but do not require a full-time executive.

Yes. Fractional compliance support can help an RIA organize policies, records, governance evidence, risk assessments, and remediation documentation before an examination. The process also identifies gaps between written procedures and actual practice, clarifies ownership, and creates a practical response plan. Preparation focuses on making the program understandable, supportable, and consistently operated—not merely compiling documents at the last minute.

Growing firms commonly benefit from a clear risk assessment, practical policies and procedures, defined governance responsibilities, monitoring or testing routines, and a documented path for handling issues. Firms working with financial crime risks may also need AML, BSA, KYC/KYB, sanctions, fraud, and suspicious activity reporting support. Priorities should reflect the firm’s products, customers, transaction activity, and partnerships.

A scalable program starts with a risk-based design that reflects the firm’s actual products, customers, delivery channels, and geographic exposure. From there, responsibilities, controls, escalation paths, and evidence retention should be defined in ways employees can use. Pillars FinCrime Advisory helps align policy, process, governance, and technology so the program can expand without creating unnecessary operational friction.

Yes. Pillars FinCrime Advisory supports AML and BSA program development, sanctions and OFAC screening, KYC/KYB design, transaction-monitoring optimization, suspicious activity reporting, and related risk assessments. Support can address policy and procedure design, control calibration, investigation documentation, reporting quality, and audit readiness. Each engagement is structured around the organization’s financial crime risk and operational capacity.

Yes. Executive and board advisory is a core part of fractional leadership support. Joshua Douglas works with leadership teams to explain regulatory expectations in clear business language, establish risk appetite, prioritize program investment, and create governance structures that demonstrate maturity. This helps decision-makers connect compliance responsibilities with growth plans, operational realities, sponsor-bank expectations, and stakeholder confidence.

An engagement typically begins by reviewing your business model, existing compliance responsibilities, current program materials, key risks, and immediate priorities. That initial understanding helps define the right scope, whether you need ongoing fractional leadership, a focused remediation effort, or full lifecycle program support. The resulting plan identifies practical deliverables, ownership, and a cadence that fits your team’s needs.