Is Google Sheets Enough for Marketing Compliance Approvals? FINRA and SEC Requirements Explained

If you’re trying to streamline marketing compliance reviews, you might be comparing purpose-built platforms like Warrant with manual workarounds like Google Sheets. Many teams start with spreadsheets to track approvals, but what works for a couple of assets quickly breaks down at scale.

In this article, we’ll break down why Google Sheets isn’t enough for regulated marketing teams, and how Warrant gives you the automation, auditability, and workflow control you need to grow with confidence.

What is Google Sheets Used for in Marketing Compliance?

Google Sheets is a cloud-based spreadsheet tool often used as a lightweight solution for manually tracking marketing reviews and approvals. Teams use it to:

• Log asset names, dates, and reviewers

• Manually note compliance decisions

• Attach links to shared folders or comments

• Serve as a basic record keeping solution

It’s a common starting point, but it wasn’t designed for compliance. Especially not in industries like fintech, insurance, or financial services where regulatory expectations are high and audit readiness is mandatory.

Why Google Sheets Falls Short for Marketing Compliance

• ❌ Not WORM-Compliant: Sheets can be edited or deleted by anyone with access. It doesn’t support Write Once, Read Many (WORM) storage, which is required by the SEC and FINRA for compliant record keeping.

• ❌ No Immutable Audit Trail: There’s no way to prove who approved what, when, or why, especially under scrutiny. Comments can be deleted. Versions can be overwritten.

• ❌ No Version Control: Teams must track versions manually, and there’s no single source of truth. This leads to confusion and risk.

• ❌ Approvals Live Outside the Record: If the supporting files or substantiation docs live in Google Drive or Slack threads, they can be deleted or moved, leaving no record behind.

• ❌ Enforcement Risk is Real: In 2023 and 2024, major financial firms including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were fined for failing to maintain compliant records, often due to improper communication channels and poor audit trails.

The bottom line: Google Sheets might feel free, but it costs you in risk exposure, inefficiency, and audit readiness. It’s duct tape, not infrastructure.

What is Warrant?

Warrant is a modern marketing compliance platform designed specifically for high-velocity, high-risk content environments in regulated industries.

Unlike spreadsheets, Warrant automates reviews, tracks every change, and adapts to your brand and regulatory rules, so you can scale content confidently.

Warrant is used by:

• Fintech and Insurtech startups

• Banks, Credit Unions, and Mortgage Lenders

• VC/PE firms and Broker-Dealers

• Regulated marketers and partner program leads

It’s more than a tracking tool. It’s your compliance co-pilot.

Benefits of Warrant

• ✔️ Purpose-Built for Marketing Compliance: Warrant isn’t a generic compliance platform with alot of other features you won’t use—it’s designed for marketers, partner teams, and compliance leads who manage high volumes of content and partner approvals.

• ✔️ Beyond FINRA/SEC: Check content against state regulators, FTC, ADA, your brand guidelines, and platform-specific rules (Google, Meta, YouTube)—not just FINRA/SEC.

• ✔️ Enforcement-Aware Risk Detection: Warrant’s AI is trained on real enforcement actions, so it flags violations that regulators are actively pursuing right now—not just theoretical risks.

• ✔️ AI That Gets Smarter Over Time: Warrant learns from your team’s past approvals and continuously sharpens its suggestions. Google Sheets does not improve or adapt based on your workflow.

• ✔️ Chat With AI: Ask questions, get answers tailored to your business, which makes drafting a breeze for your marketing team.

• ✔️ Flexible Workflows That Scale: Set up custom approval boards, track every comment and change, invite unlimited users, and generate full audit trails in one click.

• ✔️ Coming Soon: Social & Web Monitoring: Automatically monitor live social and web content for compliance—and fulfill 7-year record keeping requirements without lifting a finger.

  
  

Warrant vs Google Sheets: Feature Comparison

Final Verdict: Warrant Helps You Scale—Spreadsheets Can Get You Fined

Google Sheets can work for a handful of assets and a team of two. But if you’re scaling content, managing multiple reviewers, or preparing for audits, you’re operating without a safety net.

Unlike spreadsheets, Warrant offers:

• ✔️ Full policy coverage across FINRA, SEC, FTC, ADA, and 50+ state regulators

• ✔️ AI-powered risk detection trained on real enforcement actions

• ✔️ Structured approval workflows for internal teams and partners

• ✔️ Audit-ready records and WORM-compliant tracking

• ✔️ Unlimited users and built-in scalability

Want to See Warrant in Action?

Try Warrant free and see how fast, scalable marketing compliance works.

👉 Start your free trial today.