Study Series 14 general supervisory program controls, including WSP architecture, delegation, Rule 3110, Rule 3130 certifications, payments to unregistered persons, carrying agreement oversight, BCP, Rule 4530, statutory disqualification, municipal-business controls, and corrective action plans.
Series 14 expects the compliance officer to understand how authority is delegated and supervised across the firm, not just within one desk or activity. That means knowing how written procedures, annual certifications, reporting requirements, and business continuity expectations support the firm’s control environment. The chapter also includes soft-dollar arrangements, which test whether the compliance officer can assess a specialized practice through a supervisory lens.
The soft-dollar topic matters because it forces the compliance officer to think about research, brokerage, and fiduciary concerns without drifting into vague business-judgment language. The right answer usually is the one that asks whether the arrangement is properly disclosed, supervised, and consistent with the applicable rule.
This section therefore works as a reminder that general supervision is not abstract management theory. It is the system that keeps specialized activities from becoming unmonitored risks.