Ignite Consulting Partners recently hosted its Sixth Annual Compliance Unleashed Conference in Grapevine, Texas, which was attended by over 200 car dealers and other industry participants. This year’s theme, “Risk Never Rests,” emphasized the importance of taking a consistent and proactive approach to identifying risk and protecting the dealership business. New this year, the Association of Dealership Compliance Officers (ADCO), which consists of compliance officers from franchise dealers, joined Ignite in co-hosting the event. 

“We loved having the ADCO compliance officers join us, in my experience there is a perception that there is a wall between the franchise and independent space, but when it comes to compliance, we all have the same challenges and there are great opportunities to learn together,” said Steve Levine of Ignite.  The conference format had joint classes at the open and close of the event, with separate franchise and independent tracks for an entire day. 

Presentations included sessions on hot button topics such as the proposed FTC CARS Rule, presented by Levine and Eric Johnson of Hudson Cook, and also a separate class by Jean Noonan of Hudson Cook, along with litigation and regulatory trends, presented by Eric Johnson, and a session on dealing with regulators and plaintiff’s lawyers, presented by Richard Hudson and Levine of Ignite.  Event sponsor SecureClose led a discussion on the differences between E-Contracting and E-Signature, Jay Williams of Althans presented on the Right-sizing of Insurance coverage, and conference sponsor Maggie Pugesek of C&M Coaching led an interactive session on how to audit sales calls and follow-up.  Levine also presented on “Moves I’d Make if I Owned the Dealership,” in which he examined business functions and practices that present heightened risk.

“Compliance Unleashed 2024 was our most successful event yet, with both the most attendees and first time attendees,” Levine said. He invites everyone to circle next May on their calendars and make plans to attend in 2025.