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Trusted by Fintechs & Financial Institutions

Quality Assurance

Knowing your compliance program is working the way it should requires more than good intentions. It requires regular, independent testing that evaluates whether your controls are actually operating effectively. Pillars FinCrime Advisory provides quality assurance services that give fintechs and financial institutions an honest, objective view of their compliance program performance and the actionable findings needed to continuously improve it.
Fractional Compliance Services

What Quality Assurance Covers in a Financial Crime Compliance Program

Quality assurance is the ongoing process of verifying that your compliance program is doing what it's supposed to do. Here's what Pillars evaluates to give you that confidence.

Control Testing

We test your compliance controls to verify they're operating as designed. A control that exists on paper but isn't functioning in practice is a gap and we make sure you find those gaps before an examiner or auditor does.

Case File Reviews

We review samples of your alert investigations, SAR decisions, and customer due diligence files to evaluate whether your team is following established procedures, documenting their analysis correctly, and reaching well-supported conclusions.

Policy Compliance Review

We evaluate whether your team's day-to-day activities are actually aligned with your written policies and procedures. Gaps between what your policies say and what your team does are one of the most common and consequential findings in compliance examinations.

Program Performance Metrics

We help you define and track the metrics that give you a genuine view of how your compliance program is performing, from alert disposition rates and investigation timelines to SAR filing accuracy and training completion.

Continuous Improvement Framework

Quality assurance findings are only valuable if they lead to improvement. We help you build a continuous improvement process that turns QA results into actionable changes, tracks remediation, and demonstrates to regulators that your program is genuinely self-correcting.

QA Reporting & Documentation

We deliver clear, well-documented QA reports that summarize findings, rate control effectiveness, and provide prioritized recommendations. The kind of report your compliance leadership, board, and bank partner can actually use to make informed decisions.

Verify. Improve. Repeat.

A Compliance Program That Never Gets Tested Is a Program You Can't Trust

Most organizations assume their compliance program is working because nothing has gone visibly wrong. That's not the same as knowing it's working. Quality assurance gives you the independent, objective verification that your controls are operating as designed, your team is following established procedures, and your program is genuinely performing at the level your organization and your regulators expect. Pillars builds and conducts QA programs that give you that confidence rather than leaving it to chance.

quality-assurance
What's Included

The Areas Pillars Focuses on in Every QA Engagement

Effective quality assurance covers more than just reviewing a few case files. Here are the core areas Pillars evaluates to give you a complete picture of how your compliance program is actually performing.

Control Effectiveness
We test whether your compliance controls are actually operating as designed, not just whether they exist on paper. Controls that look good in documentation but aren't functioning in practice are one of the most common and costly gaps we find.
Case File Quality
We review samples of your investigation files, SAR decisions, and CDD records to evaluate whether your team is documenting their work correctly, following established procedures, and reaching well-supported conclusions consistently.
Policy Adherence
We evaluate whether day-to-day operations actually align with your written policies and procedures. Gaps between what your policies say and what your team does are a frequent examination finding and a straightforward problem to fix once identified.
Remediation Tracking
Finding issues is only valuable if they get fixed. We help you build a remediation tracking process that follows QA findings through to resolution and demonstrates to regulators that your organization takes quality seriously and acts on what it finds.

Quality Assurance Is How You Find Out What Your Compliance Program Is Really Doing

Most compliance issues that surface during regulatory examinations weren't unknown to the organization. They were unknown because no one was looking. Pillars makes sure you're always looking.

Joshua Douglas has reviewed compliance programs from the inside and from the outside and he knows the difference between a program that looks good and a program that actually works. He has seen case files that were technically complete but analytically hollow. He has seen controls that were documented but never tested. He has seen policies that were approved but never followed. Quality assurance is the process that surfaces those gaps before they become examination findings or real losses. When Pillars conducts QA for your organization, we bring the same scrutiny to your program that a regulator would, give you an honest assessment of what we find, and work with you to fix what needs to be fixed. The goal is a compliance program you can genuinely stand behind.
12+ Years
QA & Program Review Experience
Independent
Objective Assessment Every Time
Actionable
Findings That Lead to Real Improvement
Client Impact

Built for the Challenges Fintechs Actually Face

From first-time compliance builds to regulatory remediation and bank partner readiness — see how Pillars FinCrime Advisory helps organizations move forward with confidence, clarity, and programs that hold up under scrutiny.

Pillars helped us navigate a complex regulatory review with confidence. Their hands-on approach and deep understanding of fintech compliance made all the difference. Our program is now scalable and audit-ready.

JD

James Donovan

Chief Compliance Officer

The fractional CCO service provided exactly what we needed—senior-level expertise without the overhead. Joshua and his team integrated seamlessly with our operations and gave us the strategic guidance to grow safely.

SW

Sarah Wagner

Head of Risk

From transaction monitoring optimization to KYC redesign, Pillars delivered measurable improvements. Alert quality is up, operational friction is down, and we're better prepared for regulatory exams.

MT

Michael Thompson

VP, Compliance Operations

Pillars helped us navigate a complex regulatory review with confidence. Their hands-on approach and deep understanding of fintech compliance made all the difference. Our program is now scalable and audit-ready.

JD

James Donovan

Chief Compliance Officer

The fractional CCO service provided exactly what we needed—senior-level expertise without the overhead. Joshua and his team integrated seamlessly with our operations and gave us the strategic guidance to grow safely.

SW

Sarah Wagner

Head of Risk

From transaction monitoring optimization to KYC redesign, Pillars delivered measurable improvements. Alert quality is up, operational friction is down, and we're better prepared for regulatory exams.

MT

Michael Thompson

VP, Compliance Operations

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between quality assurance and quality control in compliance?
Quality control happens in real time as work is being done, like a supervisor reviewing a case file before it's closed. Quality assurance is an independent, retrospective evaluation of whether your processes and controls are working as intended across a broader sample of activity. Both matter but QA is what gives you the objective, program-wide view that regulators expect to see evidenced in your compliance operations.
How often should quality assurance reviews be conducted?
Most regulators expect QA to be an ongoing function rather than an annual exercise. The right cadence depends on your organization's size, transaction volume, and risk profile but quarterly reviews of key areas are a reasonable baseline for most fintechs and financial institutions. Pillars helps you design a QA schedule that is practical to maintain and sufficient to satisfy regulatory expectations.
What happens when QA finds a significant gap in our compliance program?
The finding gets documented, prioritized based on its severity, and assigned to a remediation owner with a clear timeline. Pillars helps you build that response process so findings don't just sit in a report but actually get resolved. Demonstrating to regulators that your organization identifies issues and fixes them is one of the strongest signals of a well-run compliance program.
Can QA findings be used against us in a regulatory examination?
Your internal QA findings are generally a sign of a healthy compliance program, not a liability. Regulators want to see that your organization is actively testing its controls and identifying issues before they escalate. What creates regulatory risk is finding issues and doing nothing about them. Pillars helps you build the remediation process that closes the loop on every finding so your QA program demonstrates exactly the kind of self-correction regulators want to see.

Who We Work With

Pillars FinCrime Advisory partners with a range of organizations across the financial services ecosystem — from early-stage startups to established institutions managing complex compliance demands.

Houston, Texas

Headquarters

United States

Remote & On-Site Engagements

Founded 2025

By Joshua Douglas

Fintechs

Payments Companies

Sponsor Banks

Financial Institutions

Why Pillars
Why Organizations Choose Pillars for Quality Assurance
We Review Like Regulators Do
Joshua Douglas has been through regulatory examinations and knows exactly how examiners evaluate compliance programs. Our QA process applies that same scrutiny so you find out what regulators would find before they do.
We Don't Just Find Problems
A QA report full of findings is only useful if it leads to real improvement. Pillars works with you through the remediation process, making sure issues get resolved and your program actually gets better as a result of every review.
Built Into Your Program
One-time QA reviews are useful but ongoing quality assurance is what keeps your program performing consistently. Pillars helps you build QA into your regular compliance operations so it becomes a permanent strength rather than a periodic project.
Ready to Strengthen Your Financial Crime Program?
Let's discuss your compliance needs today
Reach out to Joshua Douglas and the Pillars team at 281-825-1603 or pillarsfincrimeadvisory@gmail.com . Whether you're launching a new product, preparing for regulatory review, or scaling your compliance program—we're here to help.
Headquarters: Houston, Texas (Serving clients nationwide)
Contact Us Today