Coleman Talley LLP is pleased to announce that the firm has received a Certification of its adherence to the American Land Title Association’s (ALTA), “Best Practices” guidelines through an independent third-party certified public accounting firm. Atlanta-based firm Habif, Arogeti, & Wynne, LLP (HA&W), through its ComplianceSuccess Program, issued the examination report.

The ALTA “Best Practices” guideline initiative was introduced to the title industry following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s announcement to the lending industry of their enforcement authority as it relates to the protection of consumer information. The CFPB expects banks and nonbanks to have an effective process for managing the risks of service provider relationships. As a provider of real estate settlement services, Coleman Talley quickly recognized the need to demonstrate the firm’s commitment to meeting these expectations. To receive the certification, the firm had to evidence compliance with an extensive list of policies, procedures and risk controls, all centered around the protection of consumer information.

“We are proud of this accomplishment”, said Justin Scott, Coleman Talley LLP, Managing Partner. “The third-party certification was a voluntary initiative on our part, however we feel it is our duty to assure those we serve of our commitment to safeguard consumer information and provide quality service. We are happy to join a short list of Georgia law firm’s that have accomplished this level of operational standards”.

“Coleman Talley understands the importance of compliance with ALTA Best Practices and the value that an ALTA Best Practices examination with attestation reporting brings to their business,” said Lee Fields, managing director of HA&W’s ComplianceSuccess Program. “They chose to partner with us for an examination engagement to demonstrate operational excellence, mitigate risk and provide their lenders with a high level of assurance.”

There are alternatives to the level of certification that Coleman Talley chose to pursue; a number of companies claim to be “certified”, some of which have a self-certification or have undergone reviews in accordance with guidelines that are substantially less in scope, offering little assurance of compliance. Coleman Talley LLP made the decision to retain HA&W to examine its policies and procedures based on the accounting firm’s comprehensive benchmarking and reporting services across all seven ALTA Best Practices pillars: Licensing; Escrow Accounting Procedures; Privacy and Information Security; Settlement Procedures; Title Policy Production & Delivery; Professional Liability Insurance Coverage and Consumer Complaints.