Fintech

Audit Checklist for Fintech Companies

An audit checklist for FinTech companies is a list of methods on how the auditor shall conduct the auditing program on FinTech companies. With the rapid technological advancement, it is recommended that all organizations and fintech companies prepare an audit checklist for fintech companies to navigate such complex environments and regulations or compliance. Risk management and effective internal control shall be introduced as a part of the audit checklist for fintech companies to avoid any discrepancies and ill management.

What are Fintech companies?

Fintech is also commonly known as financial technology. Unlike traditional financial organizations, fintech has brought a huge change in the customer experiences connected to financial transactions. Various software, like mobile applications and other various technologies, contribute towards the best customer experiences. Audit checklists for fintech companies are important for the seamless performance of the respective fintech company.

A fintech company is a technology-based financial institution enhancing automatic technology services for businesses or consumers, such as mobile banking, peer-to-peer payment services, portfolio managers, etc. Unlike traditional banking, fintech companies have made financial transactions accessible and affordable at the same time. Like any other company audit, checklists for fintech companies are also to be taken care of to avoid any legal complexity and heavy penalties.

Meaning of Audit Checklist for fintech companies

An audit checklist for fintech companies is a list of items and procedures that an auditor has to keep in mind before conducting an audit for a respective fintech company. A fintech company, through an auditor, can achieve a comprehensive audit checklist for fintech companies for evaluating and assessing the financial operations and its various compliances aligning with the concerned law and order. Thus, this audit checklist for a fintech company provides structures that are to be covered and fulfilled for the smooth functioning of the fintech operations.

Some of the important elements that are part of the audit checklist for fintech companies are regulatory compliance, data security and privacy, technology infrastructure, management of risk and assurance, internal control management, financial reporting system, Customer due diligence, Anti-money laundering compliances, etc.

Importance of Audit Checklist for Fintech Companies

Getting aligned with the compliance laws and regulations is indeed difficult for fintech companies. Thus, an auditor must prepare an audit checklist for fintech companies for the following reasons:

1. With the growing economy, various laws and regulations change constantly. Thus, financial compliance and regulations are also evolving continuously; failure to meet this requirement means a fintech company would have to compensate heavy penalties and face legal liabilities. This audit checklist for fintech companies ensures that the respective fintech company is aligned with the required laws and regulations of a business standard.
2. Similar to the traditional banking system, a fintech company has the same laws and regulations. Still, they may be subject to various other laws and regulations connected to technologies. For example, a company using artificial intelligence for business operations may have to comply with data privacy laws of a specific jurisdiction.
3. With the advancement of technology, new laws on compliance and regulations are constantly upgraded and changed; thus, through an audit checklist for fintech companies, an auditor can ensure that the respective fintech company is updated with the latest compliances, thus helping the organizations to meet all the relevant regulations.
4. With the increasing number of financial crimes, it is the responsibility of the fintech companies and other organizations to prevent such money laundering activities. This audit checklist for fintech companies ensures that the concerned fintech company has complied with the AML regulations and knows your customer requirements so that no legal liabilities and heavy penalties are imposed upon such fintech company for non-compliance.

Regulations Audit checklist for fintech companies

A fintech company as a financial institution needs to be aware of constantly changing compliance and regulatory requirements that apply to business operations. The regulations audit checklist for fintech companies is given below.

KYC Requirements or Know Your Customer

It is a verification procedure on the customer’s details and identifying the risk involved with the respective customers to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing activities. An audit checklist for a fintech company must ensure that the respective fintech company has a KYC program to avoid potential penalties and reputational damage.

Consumer protection regulations

Consumer protection regulations are imposed so that consumers are not exploited by the fintech companies. An audit checklist for fintech companies makes sure that the company is addressing the best customer experience. These regulations ensure unfair and deceptive practices against the customers.

Data Security Regulations

A fintech company as a technology-based financial institution must ensure that concerned data security regulations are compiled so that the customer’s data is protected or safeguarded, thus building a customer’s best experience or trust.

Anti-money laundering regulations or AML

Various state laws require that the fintech company implement an anti-money laundering program to combat money laundering and terrorist financing activities. This audit checklist for fintech companies through an auditor shall check if the respective company has conducted all the necessary procedures and steps on AML laws and regulations.

Licensing requirements

Every state has different requirements for licenses. Thus, fintech companies, depending on their business operations, have to issue a license according to the requirements of the specific jurisdictions or states. Thus, the audit checklist for a Fintech company will help the company find the required license for the business operations according to the locations.

Tax requirements

Fintech companies need to comply with state tax laws and regulations such as income tax laws, payroll taxes, sales taxes, GST, etc. The audit checklist for fintech companies ensures that the respective organization diligently fills such tax returns within a stipulated time frame.

Internal Audit Checklist for Fintech Companies

An internal audit checklist for fintech companies helps fintech companies meet all the complex laws and regulations of respective jurisdictions. Internal audits ensure that the fintech company adheres to various regulations connected with AML, Know your customer, consumer protections, data privacy, etc. A regular internal audit shall help the fintech companies detect the potential gaps and risks and recommend the same for corrective measures.

A risk management system shall also be part of an audit checklist for fintech companies, as the fintech companies are exposed to various risks such as cyber security, operational vulnerabilities, and various other financial risks. An internal audit helps organizations mitigate such risks and avoid further damage to companies’ reputations and business operations. Thus, an internal audit checklist for fintech companies must ensure that risk management processes are implemented throughout the business operations.

This audit checklist for fintech companies shall also evaluate if the internal control management has been implemented, aligning with the best industry practices to safeguard the customer data and fraud prevention, detect weaknesses, and recommend corrective measures for the same.

Internal audits are also conducted regularly to monitor the business operations so that an improvement or efficiency can be recommended if a slow in operations is detected. To increase the efficiency of the business operation, an internal auditor may suggest a new technology for seamless customer experiences. This audit checklist for fintech companies must ensure that such technology meets the goals of the concerned fintech company and delivers an accurate result.

Fintech India regulatory framework

In India, RBI, or the Reserve Bank of India, is an authorized regulatory body to check and provide guidelines on fintech companies. An audit checklist for fintech companies has to follow the required guidelines instructed by the RBI so that specific safety, efficiency, and security criteria are complied with.

SEBI, or Securities and Exchange Board of India, is another authority under the Indian government to govern securities markets and the insurance regulatory and development authority connected to various financial institutions and fintech companies.

In India, there are no specific rules and regulations governing fintech services and products. However, RBI plays a key role in regulating fintech companies. A dedicated unit called the Department of Regulation was set up in 2018 to monitor the regulatory audit checklist for fintech companies. Given below is the regulatory audit checklist for fintech companies according to the RBI:

Payment and Settlement Systems Act,2007 (PSS Act)

To establish a payment system, Fintech companies must obtain prior approval from the Reserve Bank of India under the controlling payments legislation, also known as the PSS Act. Some of the common examples of said payment systems are debit card operations, smart card operations, transferring of money, etc.

Peer-to-Peer Lending Platforms directions, 2017

This peer-to-peer lending platform direction refers to lenders’ exposure rules and regulations and various other restrictions related to the P2P lending platform activities.

NCPI Regulations on UPI Payments

NCPI, also known as the National Payments Corporation of India, regulated under the supervision of RBI, is another important audit checklist for fintech companies that are to be considered and evaluated so that money transfer services using UPI platforms do not go out of hand according to the guidelines provided under NCPI regulations and its eligibility prudential standards. These NCPI regulations govern the UPI payments in India.

NBFC Regulations

All NBFC banks in India are governed by the Reserve Bank of India, and thus, every financial organization that provides fintech services shall be registered under the RBI Act of 1934. An audit checklist for fintech companies must ensure such requirements are fulfilled by the respective fintech companies to avoid any non-compliances. No NBFC can operate in India without obtaining a registration certificate from the Reserve Bank of India.

Companies Act, 2013

There are indeed various laws and regulations that a fintech company in India has to fulfil for operating in India; one of the major requirements that are to be considered under the audit checklist for fintech companies by an auditor is that if the respective fintech company has registered under the said companies’ act.

The Consumer Protection Act of 2019

According to the Consumer Protection Act, a fintech company is a service provider. The audit checklist for fintech companies must ensure that the customer details are not publicly available unless required under any laws and public interest so that no unfair practices occur and customer details are kept confidential. The same goes for the IT Act or an Information Technology Act that prevents the fintech company from sharing the customer’s data and information unless it is required under any laws in India.

KYC Audit Checklist for Fintech Companies

With the growing number of fintech companies in India, complying with the KYC audit checklist for fintech companies has become very important so that the risk involved with the customer details is protected. With the advancement of technology, KYC has become more important than ever in combating money laundering activities and financial crimes.

For the KYC procedure to function smoothly, a concerned auditor must prepare a KYC audit checklist for fintech companies so that an organization understands the key requirements of KYC, implements best practices, and complies with the industry standard laws and regulations. Thus, the KYC audit checklist of fintech companies ensures that no heavy penalties and legal liabilities are imposed for non-compliance.

This KYC compliance helps Fintech improve customer experiences, efficiency in customer onboarding processes, and the risk management system to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. This all ultimately results in business growth and success.

Types of KYC Audit Checklist for Fintech Companies

Customer Due-Diligence

Just like any other financial institution, a fintech company must also ensure that customer details are verified and detect the risks involved in their activities by conducting customer due diligence on individuals and entities. Customer due diligence includes collecting information regarding customer details, such as name, address, identity cards, etc.

Verification of Customer Identity

Verification of customer identity is one of the critical aspects of the KYC procedure. An audit checklist for fintech companies must ensure that a fintech organization has a reliable source to verify the identity of the customers, such as a biometric facial recognition system, an automatic system to verify the documents, etc. This verification method should not only identify the customer details but also the transactions of the customers.

Risk assessment

An audit checklist for fintech companies must ensure that the concerned fintech company has a risk assessment program where the customer details are evaluated considering financial history, geographic locations, and various other factors that could be a potential risk. The more the risk of a customer profile is detected, the more the customer due diligence has to be conducted thoroughly with an additional verification and monitoring program.

Electronic Signatures

Electronic signatures are one of the important tools of fintech companies. This electronic signature eases the KYC procedure. An audit checklist for a fintech company shall check if such an electronic signature complies with the state rules and regulations and is as reliable and safe as a traditional signature.

Data Privacy

It is indeed important for a fintech company to meet all the data privacy laws and regulations, such as GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation under the European Union; while collecting data from the customer, consent has to be obtained from such customers for collecting details and thus ensuring the data security.

Conclusion

Thus, with the advancement of technology, several fintech companies have evolved exponentially. This article has covered various steps and procedures to be followed by an auditor while navigating a complex audit procedure for a fintech company. This article has covered various regulatory and compliance frameworks to fight against potential risks and prevent any legal liabilities or heavy penalties.

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