Build your network.
Get timely feedback and direction.
Find out what's really happening in compliance.
100s of companies trust Research Assistant (from insideARM) for compliance trends, timely answers to tricky compliance questions, CMS enhancing tools, and connection with professionals from across the industry. Join on a monthly or yearly membership. Cancel anytime.
Get a free one-month trial when you sign up with the code "TRYRESEARCH"
Timely answers to your tough Qs
Tricky compliance questions come up ALL THE TIME. Get answers from compliance professionals and experts when you need it.
Outside validation when you need it
Are you on the right track? Get practical feedback from a broad cross-section of industry compliance pros when you need it.
Benchmark your CMS
You don't have to guess or spend $$$ on outside counsel. Find out how your CMS compares to industry best practices and client expectations.
Consolidate your research
There are lots of compliance materials out there. Few get the point get to the point quickly and clearly. Stay informed and save time with Research Assistant alerts.
Build Your Network
Meet (a lot) more sharp compliance professionals from around the industry and add them to your personal network.
What You Get from Research Assistant
A brutal client RFI? Ops wants to change a procedure based on something they heard in passing at a conference? A new, unclear regulation dropped and you don't know if or how it applies to you?
Tricky compliance questions come up all the time. They can be hard to research and they can derail your work week. Here's an example sent by a Research Assistant member recently:
"When my client updates the balance owed after I have sent the consumer a validation notice, the math no longer works in the itemization table in my model validation notice. The CFPB says that the math doesn't have to make sense, but if I send a subsequent notice to a customer, it will result in a complaint. Every. Time. What should I do?"
QUESTIONS LIKE THIS!
Outside counsel can help. A good conversation at a conference could, too. But most compliance professionals need informed advice or feedback on questions like this far more frequently than they can expect to get from conferences or counsel. Are you getting informed feedback and direction when you need it?
Get your tough questions answered:
Are you looking for answers on a challenging compliance issue right now?
Sign up for Research Assistant with the code "TRYRESEARCH" for a free, one-month trial and bring your questions to our next peer call.
If you manage compliance in collections, you know that strength of your program rests on a thousand judgement calls. You have to assess a constant deluge of new rules, new case law, and new plans or direction from management or operations.
Maybe you have a great compliance team, but if you don't know how others are handling the same challenges around the industry, you may be missing serious gaps. If you don't know what issues are coming up in audits or with clients, you may be in for painful surprises.
You don't have to manage compliance on an island.
With Research Assistant, you'll get weekly discussion from peers and experts on the latest trends in auditor and client expectations, plus candid feedback on how other compliance professionals are handling the same challenges.
Through peer calls, practical compliance alerts, up-to-date policy and procedure tools, and timely member reports, you'll come away with a strong sense for what's actually happening in the industry and how your CMS measures up.
The vast majority of Research Assistant members either agree or strongly agree that Research Assistant gets them the outside validation they need, week-in and week-out.
Want to assess Research Assistant yourself? Take a site tour.
Want to assess our CMS-enhancing tools yourself? See a sample policy template.
You don't have to guess or spend a lot of $$$ on outside counsel. Find out how your CMS compares to industry best practices and client expectations when you:
All original materials have been drafted and designed by licensed collections attorneys and compliance experts. Every piece of content in the Research Assistant library has been reviewed within one year.
Want to assess our tools yourself? See a sample policy template.
Want to know what is included in our library of tools? Get the list of core tools and templates.
There are a lot of compliance materials out there. How many of them can you trust to get to the point quickly with nothing but critical, timely details?
You could spend all day reading free compliance articles and listening to chatty webinars. Or you could free up hours of your week with Research Assistant's focused, weekly compliance alerts instead.
Weekly Research Assistant emails focus in on the biggest practical compliance issues of the moment, include links for additional reading, and often discuss issues that surface in the weekly peer call. Most members read them every week.
Of course, we can tell you how good they are, but you need to see it to believe it.
Want to see for yourself? Download a recent member email.
The stronger your network, the stronger your compliance.
Research Assistant can connect you with hundreds of dedicated, insightful compliance professionals from across compliance - contacts you can lean on when you have a tricky issue you need to talk about, or meet up with at the next industry event.
Want to expand your network? Want to get to know more compliance professionals before you head out to the next compliance conference? Want a larger pool of expertise to call on when you you're working through your next difficult compliance project?
Research Assistant attracts members who care about strong compliance, constant improvement, and collaboration. Does this sound like you, too? Join us.
Sign up for Research Assistant with the code "TRYRESEARCH" for a free, one-month trial and start building up your network now.
Research Assistant (from insideARM) is a compliance roundtable, alert service, and source for premium, CMS-enhancing compliance tools. Here's what you'll get when you join:
1. A weekly roundtable / peer call moderated by Research Assistant compliance expert Sara Woggerman, with a BIG emphasis on problem-solving and an agenda entirely directed by member interest and need. Find out what auditors or clients are asking for? Find out how your CMS matches up with industry standards. Get informed feedback when you need it.
2. Weekly member emails including condensed compliance alerts, practical analysis, and insight distilled from peer calls - all sent directly to your inbox. Get a heads-up on emerging compliance issues and get practical advice on HOW to handle them. Download a sample email.
3. A member site with an always-on question submission portal, so you can pose questions to Research Assistant any time.
4. A library of up-to-date tools including CMS-enhancing guides, policy templates, policy builder tools, reports, and on-demand videos, as well as a new state law quick reference matrix that lets you track Statutes-of-Limitation by judgment duration, lien and garnishment, and statutory references, by state and by product type. Download a sample template.
There are a lot of free resources out there, but when it comes to managing a CMS, making difficult judgment calls, and handling the day-to-day responsibilities of compliance, hardly any of them work. Why not see for yourself what you can do with the practical insight and feedback you get with Research Assistant?
Find out how Research Assistant can help you get answers to tough compliance questions, get outside validation, benchmark your CMS, consolidate your research, and build your professional network.
Research Assistant members get:
Weekly, moderated peer calls where you can talk out your challenges - led by Sara Woggerman, ARM compliance expert, head of iA Research Assistant and President of ARM Compliance Business Solutions
Weekly compliance guidance on emerging trends in compliance, new pitfalls and traps, and what new industry developments actually matter for your work
Up-to-date, road-tested checklists, policy templates, spreadsheets, forms, and other compliance tools you can use to improve and better track your compliance efforts immediately
Cancel anytime!
The Research Assistant Team:
Sara Woggerman
Executive Director of iA Research Assistant and President of ARM Compliance Business Solutions.
Prior to starting ARM Compliance Business Solutions and joining Research Assistant, Sara led the Compliance Services Department at
Ontario Systems, LLC (now FinVi) where she provided consulting services to over forty clients.
Missy Meggison
General Counsel and Executive Editor at insideARM and Executive Director of the Consumer Relations Consortium
Missy brings 15 years of experience in law and the collections industry to Research Assistant. She previously served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for First Financial Asset Management, Inc. (FFAM360).
Bryce Noel
Attorney and Compliance / Legal Editor, Research Assistant
Bryce brings 10 years of experience in law and collections to Research Assistant. Before coming to Research Assistant, he served as VP of Legal Operations and Corporate Counsel for First Financial Asset Management, Inc. (FFAM360) and as Associate Attorney for Aldrige Pite, LLP.
The Research Assistant Community
Chief Counsels, Heads of Compliance, and more
The Research Assistant community brings hundreds of years of expertise in legal, compliance, and regulatory risk management to Research Assistant. Research Assistant isn't a lecture or a canned webinar - we facilitate real conversations on the practical challenges of collections compliance every week, which means that all members benefit from the considerable, collective expertise of the community. Join us!
Shop Talk
FAQ
Who runs Research Assistant?
Research Assistant is powered by the iA Institute - the same company and team behind insideARM. We have decades of experience covering legal, compliance, and regulatory issues for collections companies. If you trust the news and analysis that comes out of insideARM, you can trust the practical guidance that comes from Research Assistant.
Do I have to be a compliance expert to join?
Not at all. Research Assistant is for anyone involved with compliance at any level. Many professionals new to compliance have used Research Assistant to get up to speed quickly.
What kinds of subjects do you cover?
We discuss anything regarding industry best practices, client and auditor expectations, nuances in laws, regulations or consent orders, checking your compliance understanding against the industry's, or benchmarking your program against other programs. Research Assistant is not a source for legal advice, however. Also, we cannot recommend specific vendors.
How much does iA Research Assistant cost and is there a commitment?
Research Assistant costs just $99 per month or $1,069 per year. iA Research Assistant is a recurring subscription that can be month-to-month or yearly, depending on your preference. Cancel anytime.
Do I have to pay by month?
Nope. If you would prefer a yearly subscription, you can have one.
Got another question?
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