Individual practitioners and companies providing accounting, fiduciary and corporate services or related services such as tax advice, audits or insolvency services in connection with public transactions must comply with the requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance 2017 and be subject to supervision. The IFA is generally the supervisory authority for IFA members and companies. The regulator leaves no doubt about the role of senior management in enforcing the rules: “A company`s senior management is responsible for ensuring that its activities comply with regulatory requirements.” And the CFA Application Guide states in paragraph 2.31 (Senior Management Responsibility, tinyurl.com/oa8kz9y): “The FCA is committed to ensuring that business leaders fulfil their responsibilities. The FCA expects management to take responsibility for ensuring that firms identify risks, develop appropriate systems and controls to manage those risks and ensure that systems and controls are effective in practice. “Your knowledge of rules and regulations, combined with your knowledge of the regulatory hot spot and industry friction areas, gives you the information you need to guide your business through the annual business plan in a compliant manner without expecting regulatory scrutiny, bad reputation, or other associated compliance issues. Fundamentally, detailed regulatory compliance rules are intended to ensure that clients receive a fair offer and are aware of all the risks, benefits and challenges associated with executing their engagement or planning their investment. Business acumen would dictate that if we serve our customers well, they will likely remain happy and less likely to complain or litigate. The compliance function will continue to evolve in the context of regulatory changes and risks, and in line with the FCA`s expectations. Recent enforcement actions should serve as an important warning to the CF10 and their fellow executives that they can (and will) be held personally liable for failures in their organization`s systems and controls.

In fact, if you look up the FCA handbook, you will find that there is no manual that the compliance officer or compliance department is “responsible” for compliance. You`d be hard-pressed to find formal regulatory guidance on someone called a compliance officer. Only in the world of financial services could we have such an ill-defined role that would lead to a profession as resource-intensive as the compliance industry. Not all regulatory requirements directly affect improving the customer`s shopping experience: many are aimed at improving the company`s internal systems and controls to improve business efficiency. Compliance departments must take responsibility for identifying and managing the regulatory compliance risks to which the organization is exposed. The design and implementation of a robust compliance monitoring program typically includes: This compliance toolkit is designed to guide and facilitate financial advisors` compliance with various SAM approval and reporting requirements and timelines. Stronger and more robust systems and controls allow for greater leniency in regulatory capital regimes where they can be demonstrated. As with unsung compliance heroes who save businesses from disaster, there is usually never a clearly stated method to save the business directly, such as a strong, well-implemented risk framework. Through its regulatory, compliance and oversight functions, the IFA monitors compliance with these standards and will take action through its independent disciplinary procedures if the standards are not met. Independent Financial Advisors (IGAs) are professionals who provide independent financial advice to their clients and recommend appropriate financial products across the market. The term was developed to reflect a regulatory position of the United Kingdom and has a specific British meaning, although it has been adopted in other parts of the world, such as Hong Kong. The Institute of Financial Accountants` sanctions policy should be consulted by a Code of Conduct Committee when considering the order to be issued (or offered) if the committee has made a finding against a member, student, affiliate, member firm or contractor.

The purpose of these guidelines is to improve consistency and transparency with regard to the outcome of the IFA`s regulatory and disciplinary proceedings. The Membership Regulations contain detailed requirements relating to a member`s rights and obligations. They also contain provisions on IFA students, affiliates, member companies and contracting companies. A useful definition of the role of compliance might be: “We define compliance within our organization as the function of identifying relevant legal, regulatory, and best practice requirements, and then implementing necessary changes to our systems and controls to continually facilitate compliance with those obligations.” The Public Practice Regulation explains the meaning of “public practice” (which excludes volunteer work), the eligibility requirements for an IFA professional certificate, and the exercise of obligations relating to professional indemnity insurance, commitments, holding client funds, handling complaints, and making arrangements in the event of death or disability. The term “independent financial advisor” was coined to describe advisors who work independently for their clients, rather than representing an insurance company, bank or bancassurance. At that time (1988), the UK government introduced the polarisation regime which required advisors to be tied to a single insurer or product provider, or to be an independent practitioner. The term is often used in the UK, where IFAs are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and must meet strict qualification and competence requirements.