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accountability | Peruse our blogs for the latest, fresh perspective on navigating the maze of global regulations and upcoming milestones. This is your shortcut to staying ahead, packed with insights and expert tips from the forefront of GRC innovation. (2)

“Regulatory Greens”: FCA’s Balanced diet

governance, accountability, SM&CR, Consumer Duty, GRC, financial crime

"Good strategy, like good nutrition, is all about balance. The right elements, working together, to support long-term health." (Emily Shepperd, FCA's COO, June 2024)

Signing off financial promotions with finesse

accountability, oversight, FCA gateway, financial promotions, marketing compliance

The UK’s financial promotions regime saw some significant changes in the past year, including the introduction of a regulatory gateway for approvers of third-party financial promotions. The emphasis on financial promotions isn’t new. In recent years, we’ve seen the...

Navigating the AI Frontier: A Regulatory Journey

governance, third parties, accountability, corporate governance, risk management, regulatory strategy, monitoring, AI

“Depending on who you speak to, AI could either lead to the destruction of civilisation, or the cure for cancer or both. It could either displace today’s jobs or enable an explosion in future productivity. The truth probably embraces both scenarios. At the FCA we are...

Is SM&CR working?

accountability, SM&CR, audit trail, AI

SM&CR Under Review: What You Need to Know The SM&CR review was announced as part of the Edinburgh reforms towards the end of 2022, with HM Treasury indicating that “ some stakeholders have raised concerns about their experiences of specific aspects of the regime .”...

Are you ready for the Consumer Duty?

governance, third parties, accountability, assessments, wealthmanagement, consumerduty, systems and controls, compliance, culture, corporate governance

Following the initial milestone of 31st October 2022, the FCA reviewed a sample of the implementation plans from some of the larger firms operating in the UK. These were firms deemed to be of higher risk as they operate in the retail market and could impact both...

CAR 2022: What should you focus on?

governance, accountability, corporate governance, risk management, funds, CAMP, audit, CASS, client assets

The Irish Client Asset Regulations (the CAR) were introduced to inspire public confidence and protect investors if an investment firm became insolvent. Revisions were made to the CAR in 2015 and today, we see Ireland preparing for further enhancements with the...

SM&CR: an update for FMIs

accountability, oversight, risk management, SM&CR, FMIs

UK Government issued a consultation paper last year setting out its proposals to replicate the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) for Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs), who are not authorised firms. Here we look at the outcome of that consultation....

Trustees: The September deadline is looming. Are you ready?

governance, third parties, accountability, corporate governance, pensions, monitoring, trusts, audit trail, data sharing

From the 1 September 2022, most trusts will need to be registered with HMRC. There are a few exceptions. This follows a 12-month transition period. What’s changing and why? Back in 2017, you may recall that the UK set up the Trust Registration Service (TRS) to fulfil...

Assess & Prove Competence

governance, accountability, culture, corporate governance, oversight, Code of Conduct, SM&CR, competence, audit trail

The Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) was first introduced in 2016 for banks and then phased in until it was finally extended to include the remaining regulated firms at the end of 2019. SM&CR aims to encourage greater accountability within firms whilst...

Operational Resilience: Why is it so important for insurers?

accountability, risk management, operational resilience

L ike banks, insurers operate on a large scale and globally, but by their very nature, insurers are exposed to more risks than the average bank, wealth manager or other regulated firms. This is because insurers support the economy by transferring the risks that we face...

Has SM&CR made a difference?

governance, accountability, culture, remuneration, SIMR, SM&CR, certification, competence

The Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR) for insurers took effect in December 2018. As part of the Solvency II regime, insurers were already subject to the Senior Insurance Managers Regime (SIMR) introduced in 2016. Despite that, there were some new...

How to demonstrate control over Master Trusts

governance, accountability, pensions, oversight, trusts

Master Trusts Under the Spotlight The UK’s Pension Schemes Act 2017 and Occupational Pension Schemes (Master Trusts) Regulations 2018 introduced the concept of a master trust. Under the legislation, firms had to identify whether their pension scheme fell within the...