Learn the delegation, supervisory-process, reporting, business-continuity, and soft-dollar concepts tested in Series 14 general supervision.
The fifth Series 14 chapter covers the firm’s general supervisory architecture. This is where the compliance officer demonstrates understanding of delegated authority, supervisory processes, business continuity, reporting, and a specific soft-dollar topic that tests judgment about adviser-style research and brokerage arrangements. The emphasis is broad control, not isolated product knowledge.
Read this chapter as the firm’s supervisory-backbone layer. The compliance officer has to see how responsibilities are delegated, how exceptions are escalated, and how special arrangements such as soft dollars fit into the firm’s overall control system.
| Skill | Exam use |
|---|---|
| Apply written supervisory procedures | Recognize when the answer must follow the firm’s assigned procedure rather than an informal fix. |
| Evaluate delegation and escalation | Decide who owns the control and when compliance, legal, senior management, or a supervisor must be involved. |
| Recognize testing and certification duties | Connect supervision, annual reviews, BCP, reporting, and certifications to the control framework. |
| Treat soft-dollar facts carefully | Identify when research and brokerage arrangements create compliance obligations. |
Use these section lessons as the main reading path for this Series 14 function. They connect compliance-officer judgment to exact tested controls, escalation points, records, and remediation evidence.
| Section | Lesson |
|---|---|
| 5.0 | General Supervisory Program and Delegation |
| 5.1 | Soft Dollar Arrangements |