I’ve heard it said before…  “The FCA have got bigger fish to fry, they aren’t going to be looking into how our business operates.  There are only 400 of us and we are not a fixed portfolio firm with a named supervisor. We think they have probably forgotten who we are since they authorised us…..”

The FCA has recently published its business plan for 2020/21, setting out its strategic focus for the next three years.

As you might expect in the current climate, it’s shorter than usual, with a focus on potential market disruption caused by COVID-19, but still manages to convey key areas of concern.

Pandemic, Senior Manager Accountabilities and flexibility are not really a selection of words that anyone would have envisioned being joined together only a few months ago...

For solo-regulated firms, the SM&CR implementation date has arrived.  We’re proud to have successfully prepared some of the UK’s best known financial brands for this impending regime.  What we have also discovered is that surprisingly, many firms are still not ready and there’s a surprising reason as to why. 

CONCON 4.2 SC1: "You must take reasonable steps to ensure that the business of the firm for which you are responsible is controlled effectively"

"You can delegate authority but you can not delegate responsibility"

Former U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan

We ran our first ever webinar on 30^th September and this is what we learnt.

The webinar, ‘SM&CR the final countdown – 50 working days to go’, was co-hosted with TISA and focused on the major outstanding actions that firms should be focusing on ahead of ‘Day One’ on December 9^th. 

KNOWLEDGE – “Facts, information and skills acquired through experience or education.  The theoretical or practical understanding of a subject”

COMPETENCE - “The ability to do something successfully or efficiently”

‘Final call for SM&CR’ – Are you sure your preparations are taking you in the right direction?

Read “Rising to the challenge of the Certification Regime”, by Julie Pardy to help ensure your SM&CR journey ends up at the right destination!

45 individuals interviewed across 15 Banking institutions

In what has been described by the FCA as an SM&CR “Stocktaking Report” in the Banking Sector, the most recent FCA publication gives us an insight into what they found across the sector.