UK firms have less than six months left to ensure they comply with the new Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) rules. SMCR will have a measurable impact on management, compliance, human resources and technology processes for all firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
According to an article by Sean Lam, chief executive of Walker Crisps, in this past week’s Financial Times, firms have much work to do to ensure compliance. This includes adjusting their governance arrangements, clarifying areas of responsibilities, identifying and eliminating gaps, and recording and evidencing their review processes.
Firms must also construct a “statement of responsibility” that clearly establishes what senior management is responsible and accountable for. Once this is completed, both senior managers and employees must be educated on the new code of conduct rules that will apply to them specifically under SMCR.
Lam reiterates implementation of the new SMCR rules will be a long process, likely taking months to complete for most firms and requiring a dedicated team to work out the requirements. He suggests several key steps firms should take to make sure they meet the implementation deadline. This includes the automation of labor-intensive and time-consuming compliance processes.
To learn more, consider reading Lam’s recent Financial Times article “Clock is Ticking on SMCR Compliance.” Or watch our recent SMCR webinar, where we discuss five steps your firm should take before the 9th of December and the year ahead.