Financial Review Process
Publishing accurate financial content is not a single event. This page walks through every stage an article goes through before it is published, and how we keep checking it afterward, so you can judge our work by what we actually do.
How this page fits with our other policies
Editorial Guidelines
The standards our content must meet. Read the Editorial Guidelines.
Fact-Checking Policy
How each individual claim is checked. Read the Fact-Checking Policy.
This page
The workflow: the order of the steps, who is responsible, and what happens after an article goes live. It applies to all articles, guides, comparisons, and calculators. Policy pages like this one are reviewed at least once a year.
The five stages before we publish
Every article goes through the same five stages, in order. We do not skip one because a topic is urgent or commercially attractive.
Assess the topic
Is there a real reader need? Can its key claims be checked against primary sources? Can we keep it current? We also note any commercial link to the topic, such as an affiliate partner, so we frame it carefully.
Research and draft
The team researches primary sources, tags every claim with its source as it is written, and shows the math for any calculation. AI tools may help with drafting, but a person directs the work.
Verify
A separate pass. A person opens each source and confirms the claim, the date, and the scope, and recalculates every number. This is never delegated to the AI that helped draft.
Edit
An editor checks clarity, balance, completeness, and freedom from commercial bias, and confirms the byline, date, risk notices, and disclosures are all in place.
Publish and schedule
We publish with sources linked and the required notices in place, and we set a next-review date. That date is an internal commitment, not a suggestion.
An article must pass these checks
- Every factual claim has a named source
One we have opened ourselves, cited where the claim appears.
- Sources are current
Nothing has replaced or updated them since we wrote the draft.
- The math reproduces
Every calculation can be rebuilt from its stated inputs.
- Facts, analysis, and opinion are separate
A reader can tell which is which.
- State differences are stated
If a rule varies by state, the article says so and points to the right authority.
- Risks and conflicts are disclosed
Risks appear in the body of the article, and any commercial relationship is disclosed.
An article goes back if it has
- A claim with no named source
Stated without a citation where the claim appears.
- A superseded source
A citation that has been updated since we drafted.
- A calculation that will not reproduce
Or inputs we cannot trace to a source.
- Absolute language
“Always”, “guaranteed”, or “risk-free” about an uncertain outcome.
- A state rule shown as universal
Presented as if it applied everywhere.
- Risk only in a footer
Or a best case shown without the typical and worst cases.
More risk, more review
The same five stages apply to everything. How much extra care an article gets depends on how much harm an error could do.
Standard
Explainers on lasting concepts, such as how compound interest works. They get the full five stages and are reviewed at least every two years.
Enhanced
Tax rules, retirement, investing, insurance, estate planning, and calculators. These get a second, dedicated verification pass, and we look for statements that are true but misleading.
Highest
Anything that discusses a product we may earn a commission on, or where readers may act on exact figures. It gets the enhanced review plus a separate check for commercial bias and correct disclosures.
Review by outside professionals
You should know exactly what “reviewed” means on this site.
Most articles are reviewed by our own team
Most of our articles are researched, verified, and edited by our team of seven. They have not been reviewed by an outside licensed professional, and we do not suggest otherwise.
Credited only if it happened
If a licensed professional, such as a CPA, an attorney, or a CFP®, reviews an article, we name them and their credential on that page. If nobody did, the page carries no such claim.
Reviewers are not your adviser
An outside reviewer acts in an editorial role only. They are not advising you. See our Financial Disclaimer and Ethics & Transparency page for how we handle any reviewer’s conflicts of interest.
Three possible outcomes
Every review ends with one of these results, so nothing sits in limbo. We record each outcome in our internal review log with the date and what was checked.
Passes
The article meets every standard. It moves to the next stage, or if it is already published, it stays live with an updated review date.
Passes with changes
The article is sound but needs specific fixes, such as a better source or a corrected figure. We make them and recheck those parts before it moves on.
Fails
A serious problem needs more than a small fix. A new article is reworked or dropped. A published page gets an “under review” notice linking to the source, or is taken down if it could mislead readers in a harmful way, until it passes again.
What starts a review
A review is not only something that happens before publishing. Six things can start one at any time.
A new article
Every new article goes through all five stages.
A scheduled review date
Every article has one. When it arrives, we recheck the whole article against its sources, not just the parts most likely to have changed.
A change in a rule, rate, or law
A tax change, a Federal Reserve decision, or a change to a product’s terms puts the affected pages ahead of the normal schedule.
A reader report
Anyone can report a problem. We check the specific claim against primary sources and reply within 5 business days. See the Complaints & Corrections Policy.
A flag from our own team
If someone on our team spots a possible problem while re-reading or working on a related article, that page is reviewed even if no reader has raised it.
A periodic audit
We re-audit older articles against our current standards for sources, disclosures, and freshness, so we do not wait for a reader to find what an older standard missed.
How often we review
These are minimums. Any of the triggers above can make a review happen sooner. The same schedule appears in our Editorial Guidelines.
| Type of content | Reviewed at least | Reviewed sooner when |
|---|---|---|
| Rates, tax-year figures, and limits | When the figures change, and every year | The IRS, the Federal Reserve, or a provider publishes new figures |
| Rules that change on a cycle | Every year | A law, regulation, or agency guidance changes |
| Product comparisons | Every year | A provider changes fees, rates, or terms |
| Calculators | When their input figures change, and every year | A tax bracket, limit, or formula changes, or a reader reports a bug |
| Explainers on lasting concepts | Every two years | Something material changes in the field |
When something changes suddenly
Sometimes a law, rate, or rule changes and a published page may now be wrong. We do not wait for the normal schedule. We watch announcements from the agencies whose figures appear in our content, including the IRS newsroom (opens in a new tab), Federal Reserve press releases (opens in a new tab), and the Federal Register (opens in a new tab).
Confirm the change
We check the primary source to confirm what changed and when it takes effect.
Find affected pages
We list every article and calculator that uses the changed figure or rule, not only the one that prompted the check.
Update or add a notice
We correct each page and show what changed. If we cannot update a page right away, we add a visible notice linking to the source. We aim to do this within 2 business days.
Record it
We log the change and what we did, so the same trigger is caught faster next time.
You can start a review too
If you believe an article is out of date, missing a disclosure, or misleading, tell us. You do not need to wait for a review date, and you do not need to be an expert.
Include this in your email
- The page address (URL)
- The claim or section you think needs review
- A primary source for the correct information, if you have one
- An email address, if you would like a reply
Common questions
Quick answers about how we review.
How long does an article take from idea to publication?
There is no fixed timetable. A simple explainer on a stable topic moves faster than a comparison or a topic where the rules are changing. We do not rush the process to meet a publishing target.
What happens if an article fails verification?
It is not published. Each weak claim is either backed by a proper source, reframed as our own labeled analysis, or removed. The article then goes back to the verification stage and does not move on until it passes.
What happens to an article that has become outdated?
If a change makes a page wrong before its review date, we treat it as urgent and update it, or add a notice linking to the source if we cannot update it right away. At a scheduled review, an article that cannot be kept accurate is removed or redirected.
Do articles with affiliate links get a different review?
A stricter one. They go through every stage, with an extra check for commercial bias and disclosures. Facts about a product we may earn from are verified exactly like any other. See our Advertising & Affiliate Disclosure.
How can I tell when an article was last reviewed?
Articles show a publication date and, where we have reviewed or updated them since, a last-reviewed or updated date. If a review finds nothing to change, the date may stay the same, but the review still happened and is recorded in our log.
Who is accountable for this process?
Our team of seven follows it, and Sameer Patel, Founder & Editor, is accountable for it. If you think we are not following our own process, tell us at contact@financeauthorityhub.com.
Questions about our process
If something here is unclear, or you think our practice falls short of this page, email us. We do not use contact forms.
You can also visit our Contact page, or read About Finance Authority Hub.
Process statement
Process statement: This Financial Review Process describes how content on financeauthorityhub.com, published by KCS Global Group, is assessed, verified, edited, published, and re-reviewed. It applies to articles, guides, comparisons, and calculators. We review it at least once a year and whenever our practice changes. The content is educational and is not personal financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Please read our Financial Disclaimer.