AUSTIN — Organizers of Texas Compliance Summit have announced that the conference, held last week at the Hilton Austin Airport, drew nearly 100 attendees and raised the bar for future events.

“All the events to date have been excellent, but I have to say that Texas Compliance Summit was the best yet,” said David Gesualdo, show chair and publisher of Auto Dealer Today and F&I and Showroom. “The agenda was incredibly comprehensive, all the speakers delivered memorable and informative presentations, and the crowd could not have been more engaged.”

The event began Monday, Nov. 16, with an evening reception and welcome address, followed by a full day of featured speakers and panel discussions. Highlights included sessions dedicated to actions taken by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general, as well as compliance in sales, F&I and digital communications. The panels, which included four speakers who work in dealerships in Texas, Kansas and Colorado, tackled issues relating to the design, implementation and enforcement of compliant front-end processes. Karen Phillips, general counsel and executive vice president of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association (TADA), discussed truth in advertising, data sharing and factory relations.

Texas Compliance Summit also featured the debut of Auto Dealer Compliance, a new magazine dedicated to helping U.S. auto dealers keep up with the latest news, training tips and commentary from leading experts.

“Compliance is here to stay, and that’s not a bad thing,” Gesualdo said. “If we learned anything from the attorneys, trainers and dealers at Texas Compliance Summit, it’s that transparency and strict adherence to the law offers the clearest path to production in F&I and peace of mind for dealers and car buyers.”

For information about the next Compliance Summit, stay tuned to the event’s website.