A control is stronger
when its scope is clear.

CFTC 1.31 / 1.35

Preservation starts with scope.

Section 1.31 governs preservation and production of required regulatory records; it is not a universal call-recording mandate. Unless another provision specifies otherwise, required oral communications have a minimum one-year retention period. Other records have different schedules. Section 1.35 imposes entity- and activity-specific requirements, including particular oral pre-trade communications. Do not assume every commodity firm, CTA or introducing broker has identical duties.

Test evidence: authorized line inventory, recording retrieval, timestamps and exception history. A test-time retention setting is not proof of future preservation.

SEC Rule 17a-4

Preservation is more than a file format.

The broker-dealer rule addresses retention by record category, electronic recordkeeping, access and production. Section (f) permits qualifying audit-trail systems or non-rewriteable, non-erasable preservation. It also addresses automatic verification of storing and retaining processes, download/transfer capabilities and redundancy. It does not impose one blanket telephone-recording duty on every financial firm or RIA.

Test evidence could support a firm’s control record. It does not replace the recordkeeping system’s own verification requirements or establish 17a-4 compliance.

FINRA 3110 / 4511 / 3170

Different rules. Different obligations.

Rule 3110 concerns supervision; 4511 concerns required books and records. Its six-year fallback is not a universal voice-retention period. Rule 3170’s specific taping regime applies to defined taping firms—not all FINRA members. Covered recordings under 3170 have at least three years’ retention, the first two easily accessible.

Documented exceptions and reviewer records could help document a control process. The member retains supervisory responsibility.

MiFID II Article 16(7)

Not only conversations that end in a trade.

For EU investment firms in scope, relevant conversations relating to own-account transactions and specified client-order services include communications intended to result in those activities even when none results. Client notification, permitted equipment and access obligations matter. Retention is five years, and up to seven where requested by the competent authority; national implementation and firm scope require review.

Test scope should reflect the firm’s covered channels, not only completed trades. A sample test does not establish completeness of all covered records.

FCA SYSC 10A

Policy, equipment, monitoring and record quality.

The UK chapter has its own firm and activity scope, exclusions and operational controls. Relevant requirements cover recording policies, equipment, proportionate monitoring, and the quality, accuracy and completeness of records. Retention is five years and up to seven where the FCA requests it. Client notices also need the separate access provisions, including copies available for five years to clients and seven to the FCA, considered. Some qualifying optional-exemption firms may use written notes under specified conditions.

Operational tests could be one input to the firm’s monitoring framework, not a substitute for that framework or counsel’s applicability assessment.