Affiliate Compliance Monitoring Template

Overview

Template for ongoing monitoring of affiliate marketers generating leads on your behalf. Regular compliance audits are the cornerstone of an effective TCPA compliance program and provide documentation for safe harbor defenses.

Why Audit

TCPA compliance audits serve multiple purposes: identifying gaps before they result in violations, creating documentation for safe harbor defenses, meeting vendor contractual obligations, and demonstrating good faith to regulators. Organizations that conduct regular audits face significantly lower litigation risk.

Audit Scope

A comprehensive TCPA compliance audit should cover:

• Consent practices: Review all consent capture points, language, and documentation methods
• DNC procedures: Verify DNC scrubbing frequency, internal DNC list maintenance, and state registry compliance
• Technology compliance: Assess dialer technology against ATDS definitions and configuration settings
• Vendor management: Review lead vendor compliance certifications and audit rights
• Training records: Confirm all staff have received current TCPA training
• Record retention: Verify consent records, call logs, and compliance documents are properly retained
• Incident response: Test incident response procedures for complaints and demand letters

Audit Frequency

• Daily: DNC scrubbing verification, calling hour compliance monitoring
• Weekly: Call recording quality reviews, consent capture spot checks
• Monthly: Vendor compliance monitoring, complaint trend analysis, training updates
• Quarterly: Comprehensive program review, regulatory update assessment, policy updates
• Annually: Full compliance program assessment, third-party audit, board reporting

Audit Procedures

1. Define audit scope, objectives, and timeline
2. Gather documentation including policies, training records, consent records, and vendor agreements
3. Interview key personnel including compliance officers, call center managers, and IT staff
4. Review a representative sample of consent records for completeness and accuracy
5. Test DNC scrubbing procedures with known DNC numbers
6. Review call recordings for disclosure compliance
7. Evaluate vendor compliance certifications and audit results
8. Document findings, gaps, and recommendations
9. Create a remediation plan with assigned responsibilities and deadlines
10. Follow up on remediation items at the next audit

Documenting Results

Audit documentation should include the date and scope of the audit, the auditor's qualifications, methodology used, findings and observations, risk ratings for each finding, recommended remediation actions, and management's response. Retain audit documentation for at least 5 years.

Red Flags

Common red flags that indicate compliance gaps:

• Consent language that hasn't been updated in the past 12 months
• No documentation of DNC scrubbing dates and results
• Vendor agreements without TCPA compliance provisions
• Incomplete or missing training records
• Rising consumer complaint volumes
• Consent records that lack timestamps or IP addresses