Professional Services firms and law practices regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as well as accountancy firms governed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), operate under ethical and conduct requirements in the UK. As regulatory expectations evolve, so too must the way firms assess risk, protect their reputation, and ensure the integrity of their people.
One area gaining rapid traction is social media screening. Once considered optional, it is now becoming a core component of due diligence, particularly when onboarding new employees, partners, contractors, and even clients.
Why Are Regulated Firms Increasingly Using Social Media Screening?
Regulatory Expectations Continue to Evolve
Both regulators emphasize integrity, objectivity, and public trust. Misconduct online — whether discriminatory comments, harassment, or reputationally damaging behaviour — may potentially impact these standards.
Social media checks may help firms identify certain risks before they may become regulatory liabilities.
Reputation Risk Has Become a Business Risk
In a digital-first world, reputational damage spreads fast. A single inappropriate post by an employee could have consequences on the employer’s brand-building. Regulators expect firms to take reasonable steps to mitigate foreseeable risks.
Strengthening Recruitment and Due Diligence
Standard background checks don’t always reveal behavioral risk. Social media screening can mitigate risks by highlighting behaviours like:
- Hate speech
- Harassment or bullying
- Illegal activity
- Extremist views
- Sexually explicit content
- Threats or violence
These categories align with the expectations set by both the SRA and ICAEW.
What Risks Can Social Media Screening Help Identify?
Social Media checks can be added on to any screening program. First Advantage has become a trusted partner for regulated firms because its approach is:
Provide Services to Support Compliance Regulations
Our Social Media checks are designed to address compliance requirements. Only publicly available online content is reviewed.
Tailored for Regulated Professions
Reports are structured to support hiring teams in making consistent and documented decisions — critical for SRA and ICAEW audits.
Human‑Verified for Accuracy
First Advantage combines technology with human review to help ensure findings are consistent and relevant.
Fast, Scalable, and Global
Whether you’re onboarding one senior partner or running high-volume hiring campaigns, the process is streamlined, repeatable, and easily scalable.
How Social Media Screening Supports SRA & ICAEW Compliance
Proactive risk management during recruitment and onboarding helps firms strengthen their overall governance by supporting the compliance requirements and conduct frameworks that regulators scrutinise. By implementing these practices early, organisations mitigate their risks and may reduce their exposure to reputational harm, a key concern for supervisory bodies, and ensure they can provide clear, documented evidence of due diligence when facing audits or investigations. This approach also enables firms to meet their regulation requirements and client expectations around ethical behaviour and professionalism, reinforcing trust and credibility in their operations.
In short, it helps the firm’s ability to show regulators that it takes risk mitigation and compliance seriously.
Best Practices for Implementing Social Media Screening
- Use a third-party provider to avoid bias issues
- Focus only on job-relevant risk categories
- Apply checks consistently across roles to avoid discrimination claims
- Ensure candidates are informed this step is part of your screening policy
- Document your decision-making framework for audit readiness
The Bottom Line
For SRA and ICAEW regulated firms, social media screening is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s becoming a critical layer of protection — addressing the requirements in terms of ethical standards, safeguarding reputation, and strengthening due diligence.
First Advantage’s social media checks offer a structured way to identify behavioral risks early, helping firms address their requirements their regulators expect.
Key Takeaways
- Social media screening is becoming an important due diligence tool for SRA and ICAEW-regulated organisations.
- Firms are using social media checks to identify behavioral and reputational risks.
- Effective programs support governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance objectives.
- Human-reviewed assessments may help ensure findings are relevant, objective, and defensible.
What’s next?
Get to know your candidates and if they will be a good fit for your company, before you make the hire. Mitigate the risk of a bad hire or ensure you’re getting someone who’s the right fit for your business, by checking their behavior online against your unique standards.
Get in touch to learn how First Advantage’s social media screening solutions can support your firm’s hiring, onboarding, and risk management processes.
