If someone were to ask you what you think is most important when owning an auto dealership, what would you say? Building a solid, effective sales team<\/a>? An impressive, well-priced inventory? Great financing options?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those would all be legitimate, understandable answers \u2014 but they would also be wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most important thing to think about when owning an auto dealership is compliance. There are many different rules and regulations that affect the auto industry, and if your dealership isn\u2019t keeping up and prioritizing them, you won\u2019t be in business much longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dealership compliance has spread like wildfire since the passing of Dodd-Frank and the formation of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. There are numerous strict regulations, from F&I to marketing to inventory, that it\u2019s your job to stay on top of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How is it possible to keep up? As an owner, protecting yourself from these dealership compliance issues is a big deal. The penalties are potentially enormous and career-ending if you don\u2019t watch your step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, if you\u2019re putting in the right amount of effort to stay on top of these issues, you\u2019ll be fine. It\u2019s all a matter of awareness, training, and prevention. Because there are so many regulations to adhere to, it\u2019s wise to strategize<\/a> so that no one in your dealership ends up breaking the rules. Blaming non-compliance as \u201can accident\u201d won\u2019t save you in a courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One type of regulation auto dealerships need to worry about is the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) compliance. The OFAC is a government agency, and it maintains a list of names and aliases of individuals, organizations, and companies that the U.S. government has classified as potentially dangerous and a potential threat to national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OFAC compliance has been a \u201cmust\u201d for auto dealerships since the USA Patriot Act<\/a> was signed into law on October 26, 2001. Since then, it has been required that auto dealers (and other businesses conducting financial transactions with consumers) screen any potential buyer before conducting a sale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OFAC compliance checks are usually performed at the same time you conduct a credit check. You do not need to obtain authorization from the customer before running the search. You don\u2019t even have to tell them. It should just be something you automatically do.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe basics of OFAC compliance for car dealerships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n