Mortgage Compliance Made Simple: M365 Self-Audit Guide

Mortgage companies and financial institutions operate in a minefield of regulatory demands, and the pressure is only growing. With increased scrutiny on broker conduct, the real question is: Can you confidently prove compliance when it matters most?

That’s where Microsoft 365 activity logs come in. More than just a technical backend feature, these logs are a critical asset for compliance validation, risk management, and operational visibility. They don’t just tell you what happened—they help you demonstrate control, accountability, and transparency across your entire team.

This checklist offers mortgage firms a clear, practical roadmap for using Microsoft 365 activity logs to validate broker behavior and maintain compliance. Whether you're preparing for an audit, responding to a red flag, or simply tightening oversight, these strategies help protect your data, reputation, and bottom line.

Why Microsoft 365 Audit Logs Belong at the Heart of Mortgage Compliance

Mortgage institutions face regulatory demands that require evidence-driven answers to questions like:

• Who accessed confidential loan files?
• Were documents shared externally during the closing process?
• Have brokers met their security and privacy obligations?

Microsoft 365 activity logs help answer these questions by capturing a granular, timestamped trail of user and admin actions across Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, and more. But only if you know how to harness their full potential.

The Essential Compliance Audit Checklist for Microsoft 365 Logs

The following self-audit framework empowers financial institutions to validate broker activities, mitigate insider threats, and ace regulatory reviews.

1. Confirm Microsoft 365 Audit Logging is Active and Configured

Start by ensuring your environment is capturing the right events:

• Verify Audit Logging is Enabled

Go to the Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal and check that audit logging is turned on for your tenant and across critical services (Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, Azure AD). 

 Tip: For Exchange, run Get-AdminAuditLogConfig | FL UnifiedAuditLogIngestionEnabled in PowerShell. A “True” result means logging is active.

• Set Up Retention Policies

Review your organization’s audit log retention settings. Mortgage compliance may require audit trails up to one year (standard with E5) or even a decade (with a 10-year retention add-on). 

 Keep in mind: With certain Microsoft plans, logs are auto-purged after 90 or 180 days unless longer retention is configured.

• Assign the Right Permissions

Limit log access to trusted compliance admins only. Regularly review and update admin roles to minimize risk.

2. Audit Logins, Broker Activity, and Access Control

Mortgage organizations must pinpoint what brokers accessed, when, and from where.

• Track Login Patterns

Use activity logs to identify login spikes, failed attempts, or sign-ins from unexpected regions (such as brokers logging in from outside approved geographies). 

 Best practice: Set automated alerts for signs of brute-force attacks or anomalous access behaviors.

• Monitor File Activities

Review logs for every access, download, edit, and share event on sensitive loan files stored in SharePoint or OneDrive. Watch out for:

   - Unauthorized access to client records

   - Files shared externally without approval

   - Mass file deletions or downloads

• Control and Validate Broker Permissions

Closely audit changes in group membership and admin roles. Sudden privilege escalation could signal insider risk.

3. Detect and Investigate Anomalies Fast

No review is complete without a plan for catching and responding to security events:

• Set Up Real-Time Alerts

Microsoft 365 and third-party tools such as M365 Manager Plus or AdminDroid can alert you in real time to high-risk activities, such as external file sharing or suspicious mailbox access.

• Correlate Events and Escalate

If file-sharing looks unusual, cross-reference this with related logins, group changes, and policy modifications. Document your investigative process for later auditor review.

4. Log Evidence for Regulatory Filing and Incident Response

Mortgage regulators and investigative bodies expect a defensible chain of evidence:

• Export and Preserve Logs

Export relevant subsets of audit data before the retention window closes, especially for activities under investigation.

• Use Log Data for Self-Assessment

Analyze logs to confirm that brokers’ actions align with internal policy. Were anti-fraud and privacy rules followed? 

 Pro tip: Schedule quarterly self-audits leveraging logs to avoid surprises during external reviews.

• Document Resolution

Attach log evidence to incident reports, supervisor reviews, and ongoing compliance attestations.

5. Ensure Data Retention Meets Mortgage Industry Standards

Mortgage audits often revisit historical events months or years later.

• Review Retention Policies

Consult with legal/compliance to confirm how long audit data should be kept. Opt for extended retention for high-risk or frequently audited business units.

• Plan for Offboarding/Acquisition

If brokers or branches are offboarded, ensure their logs are preserved as required for legal defensibility.

Bonus Advanced Moves for Complete Oversight

Go beyond simple log aggregation with these advanced practices:

• Leverage Visual Dashboards

Tools like AdminDroid offer visualizations, real-time anomaly alerts, and auto-export to streamline your compliance checks. 

 See in action: Demo AdminDroid’s user audit reports

• Automate Audit Workflows

Schedule automatic deliveries of audit reports to compliance officers with tools like M365 Manager Plus. This ensures nothing is missed, even during busy loan cycles.

• Audit Policy Changes and Malware Events

Track not just user activity, but also changes to Microsoft 365 security and DLP (Data Loss Prevention) policies. These can impact your entire compliance footing.

Find out how to use Microsoft Solutions to bridge the gap between compliance and IT in our blog, Bridging IT and Compliance in the Mortgage Industry with Microsoft Solutions.

See More, Risk Less: Strengthening Compliance with Microsoft 365 Logs

Strong compliance doesn’t happen by chance—it starts with visibility.

Microsoft 365 audit logs are one of the most powerful (and underutilized) tools mortgage firms have to demonstrate accountability, ethical conduct, and data security. When you make log reviews a regular part of your self-audit workflow, you don’t just tick boxes—you actively deter internal threats, reassure regulators, and earn client trust.

Mortgage Workspace empowers your team with powerful, mortgage-industry-specific tools that integrate seamlessly with Microsoft 365. Looking for automated log management, bulletproof audit trails, and effortless compliance reporting? Discover how Mortgage Workspace can help you move beyond the checklist and set a new standard for compliance excellence.

Let your compliance program become a competitive advantage. Try Mortgage Workspace today and build total confidence in your broker oversight.