HA&W Continues to Certify Title Agencies as Compliant with ALTA Best Practices

May 31, 2016

HA&W LLP, a nationally recognized tax, audit and business advisory firm headquartered in Atlanta, has certified 24 title agencies as compliant with ALTA's Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices. 

These agencies, along with more than 400 others, have partnered with HA&W through its ComplianceSuccess program. According to HA&W, the program assures lenders that a title agent or settlement firms meets the highest standards in compliance benchmarking, readiness and reporting across all seven ALTA Best Practice Pillars.  

“HA&W stands with its clients by only issuing attestation-level ALTA compliance certificates, unlike other CPA firms in the market,” said Lee Fields, managing director of Business Consulting Services at HA&W.  “Our services are the gold standard, as non-attest reports do not provide an opinion and do not follow the assurance standards of the AICPA.”

According to AICPA standards, lenders can fully rely upon attestation certificate programs such as ComplianceSuccess to help meet their regulatory obligations. The standards, however, do not support “consulting engagement certifications” or other less rigorous programs that are offered by many in the ALTA compliance industry. For that reason, a ComplianceSuccess certificate gives title agents a real advantage in the marketplace, as well as increased comfort in their own risk management. 

HA&W provides a wide array of ALTA compliance reports including: CPA reviews, CPA examinations, SSAE16/SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports and ISO 27001 certifications.  For a small agency, reviews start as low as $3,750, including a detailed readiness assessment.  An examination adds HA&W’s CPA opinion along with increased onsite testing.  SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports, along with ISO 27001 certifications, meet the needs of the largest and most sophisticated agencies. 

Firms that have recently achieved ALTA Best Practices certificates through HA&W’s ComplianceSuccess program include:

  • Action Title Services LLC (Naples, FL)
  • American Abstract Company of McClain County Inc. (Purcell, OK)
  • Birthright Title & Escrow LLC (Goodlettsville, TN)
  • Borders & Borders PLC (Louisville, KY)
  • Celebrity Title Company LLC (Houston, TX)
  • Closing Edge Title LLC (Newport News, VA)
  • Core Title Services LLC (Lake Success, NY)
  • Cottrell Title Group (Naples, FL)
  • Gore, Kilpatrick & Dambrino PLLC (Grenada, MS)
  • Heritage Title Company (Crystal Lake, IL)
  • Homestead Title & Escrow LLC (Goodlettsville, TN)
  • Inwest Title Services Inc. (West Haven, UT)
  • Langdon Title Agency LLC (New York, NY)
  • Lori Ellen Ward PL dba Priority Title (Miramar Beach, FL)
  • Meyer Closings LLC (Atlanta, GA)
  • Monarch Title Company Inc. (Columbia, MO)
  • Precision Title Company (Schaumburg, IL)
  • Republic Title of Texas Inc. (Plano, TX)
  • Southern Title Inc. (Harvey, LA)
  • Surety Land Title Inc. (Mobile, AL)
  • The Law Office of R. Steven Calhoun (West Monroe, LA)
  • Thomas N. Jones & Associates (Franklin, TN)
  • Title Stream LLC (New Orleans, LA)
  • Top Tier Title LLC (Mandeville, LA)

 “These title agents and settlement firms are leading the industry and taking important steps to ensure that their business operations are secure, efficient and effective,” Fields said. “As title agencies become more accustomed to their compliance requirements, they are increasingly looking to ALTA Best Practices and programs like ComplianceSuccess to improve their businesses and ultimately drive a clear competitive advantage.”


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.