By Sean Wagner and Nathan Viebrock, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP (April 25, 2017, 10:32 AM EDT) -- Compliance officers at financial technology (fintech) startups have one of the most daunting tasks in the financial services industry — giving the green light to a new product or service in the face of significant time and monetary constraints. New companies rarely have the time and resources to invest in a compliance management system that is equipped to incorporate every federal law, regulation and snippet of informal guidance (let alone state law) into a company's decision to launch a new product or service. Over the past year, however, federal regulators have brought several enforcement actions against fintech firms and sent a clear message that fintech firms cannot simply ignore the complex web of regulations applicable to the financial services industry. While regulators expect companies to develop a robust compliance management system as they grow, small and emerging companies can engage in principle-based compliance to identify and minimize the risks that will most likely land them in a regulator's crosshairs. Here are 15 words in five lines to get you started:...