LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. -

In an effort to deal with an issue brought to the forefront recently with the organization of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, DealerTrack revealed today a program that aims to help dealers “more effectively demonstrate their compliance with state and federal regulations.”

Audit Protect is now included in the company’s sales and F&I compliance solution.

The program, which the company noted delivers a combination of online system functionality and offline call support, is available excusively to DealerTrack Compliance subscribers at no extra charge, officials explained.

"2012 will be a year of compliance enforcement in the automotive retail industry, and dealers need to be prepared for audits. We’ve already seen increased dealership enforcement activity this year," says Randy Henrick, associate general counsel at DealerTrack.

"Government agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and State Attorney Generals, are taking a hard look at auto dealer financing practices across the board this year,” he continued.

And delving into exactly how the new offering works, a user can generate real-time electronic audit reports through the program. These reports include historical compliance-related sales and F&I activity transacted on dealertrack.com for as long as the dealership has been subscribed to DealerTrack Compliance, the company shared.

“Through an easy-to-use and intuitive interface, dealers can also access, within seconds, specific documents within their DealerTrack electronic deal jackets that they may need to prove compliance,” officials continued.

Moreover, if needed, dealers can also utilize one-on-one call support from the DealerTrack Compliance Services Team.

For example, if a dealership is audited or they simply need documentation for tracking purposes, a DealerTrack Compliance specialist can assist them with their reporting needs, the company explained.

And in other related company news, Henrick will be hosting a free compliance Webinar, titled “Compliance Best Practices: 2012 — The Year of Enforcement,” on April 19th. During the Webinar, discussion will focus on potential enforcement associated with Red Flags and other regulations.

To register for the Webinar, see here.