Notes for owners · Branding and communication
What to check with your compliance adviser before you publish any financial marketing
A list of questions to take to a qualified adviser before any financial marketing goes out, with a one-page sheet to fill for each piece. It states no rules, because they differ by licence and change.
The GullySales team · Updated 17 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
Rules for this trade differ by state and professional body, and they change. Check the current position with your own council or adviser before you act on anything here.
On this page
- Why keep the questions separate from any rule?
- Which questions should you ask, grouped by what you are publishing?
- What does the one-page sheet look like?
- What often goes wrong in small firms?
- A loan agent's video in Patiala (invented)
- How to use the adviser's time
- Where our part stops
- Fill one sheet this week
Before any financial marketing goes out, take it to a qualified adviser with the right questions in front of both of you. This post does not tell you what you may say. Requirements differ by licence and body and change over time, so it gives you the questions to ask and a sheet that records the answers. Fill one sheet per piece, and the approval becomes something you can show, not a feeling.
Why keep the questions separate from any rule?
A rule written in a blog post can be out of date by the time it is read. It also applies differently to a registered adviser, a bank agent, an NBFC and a chit fund. Pretending otherwise puts your registration at risk.
The questions, however, stay stable. Who are we? What are we promising? To whom? In what words? With what evidence? Your adviser answers them against the rules that apply to you today.
The wealth sector has its own detail in marketing a wealth management firm inside the rules. Use this checklist for the part that is true across financial trades: the habit of asking before you publish.
Which questions should you ask, grouped by what you are publishing?
About who is speaking
- Which registration or licence do I speak under, and must its number or name appear on this piece?
- If I am an agent or distributor of someone else's product, whose name and disclosures must be shown?
- Can staff or associates post about the firm on their own accounts, and what must they say?
About what you are saying
- Does this wording promise, imply or suggest a return, safety or an approval outcome?
- May we compare ourselves with a rival?
- Which words are off limits for my licence, and are there required warnings?
- If we show a past number, what must sit beside it so the reader is not misled?
About who is listening
- Does this go to the general public, existing customers or a restricted group?
- Is it aimed at people who may be vulnerable, such as older customers, and does that change the wording?
- Which language versions need the same check?
About where it appears
- Are there extra conditions for social media, WhatsApp, SMS, email, print or video?
- Do influencer or partner posts need disclosure?
- Do we need prior approval from a body or a principal before it runs?
About data and contact
- What consent must we hold before we message or call this person?
- How do we record it, and how do we handle opt-outs?
About keeping evidence
- How long should we keep a copy of each piece, and in what form?
- Who is the named person accountable for this piece?
Not every question applies to every piece. A plain office-hours notice needs two of them. A video that talks about outcomes needs most.
What does the one-page sheet look like?
Print or keep as a document. One per piece, saved in a folder named by date.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Piece and where it will appear | Reel, brochure, WhatsApp text, web page |
| Draft version and date | The exact words and visuals, attached |
| Who wrote it | Name |
| Questions asked of the adviser | Numbers from the list above |
| Adviser's answer | In their words, and the date |
| Changes made | What changed after review |
| Approved by | Named person in the firm |
| Run dates and places | Where and from when |
| Withdraw by | A date to re-check, or "when rules change" |
The last row helps. Old pieces keep running on websites long after a rule has moved. Put a re-check date on anything that stays online.
What often goes wrong in small firms?
The adviser sees the final design, not the words in the caption, the voice-over and the reply to a comment. Review all of them.
A salesperson rewrites the approved line "to make it punchier". Lock approved wording and send changes back through the sheet.
A past piece is reposted with a new date. The wording was approved for one time and one place, so ask your adviser whether a repost needs a fresh look.
Replies on WhatsApp and comments are ignored. A casual reply from the owner can say more than the brochure did.
A loan agent's video in Patiala (invented)
Take an invented business-loan agent in Patiala who works with a few lenders and wants a short video aimed at small traders. The first script says "quick approval, no hassle" and ends with a WhatsApp number. The agent has never asked whether "quick approval" is allowed, or whose name must appear as the lender.
The agent takes the script and the sheet to a qualified adviser and to the compliance contact at one lender, and writes down both answers. The two do not fully agree: the adviser wants one disclosure line on screen, the lender wants a longer one. The agent goes with the stricter and notes why on the sheet. The line is reworded to describe the steps of the process, and the lender's name and the agent's own registration detail go on screen as directed.
The video is slower to make and promises less. A firm that wants to sell on speed may find it cannot. That is the answer the sheet exists to surface.
How to use the adviser's time
Bring the finished draft, not an idea, with the sheet already filled to row four. Ask for a plain yes, a yes with changes, or a no. Write down which. An adviser asked "is this OK?" will answer in general terms. An adviser asked about line three of the script answers about line three. If the piece will run in more than one language, bring each version.
Where our part stops
We do not give legal or regulatory advice, and nothing in this post replaces your adviser. For a record of who approved what, see campaign governance. The financial services hub has the wider sector view.
Fill one sheet this week
Take the next thing you plan to publish, fill in the sheet before the designer starts, and book the adviser's time. If you want help building the process around it, tell us what you need.
