How Technology Enables Best Practices in Policy & Procedure Management

If you work in the financial services industry, you know how important it is to have clear, consistent, and compliant policies and procedures. Policies and procedures enable firms to align operations with strategic objectives, meet regulatory requirements, and foster a culture of accountability and transparency.

But managing policies and procedures is often easier said than done. It can be a complex and challenging endeavor to create, update, communicate, and enforce policies and procedures across the firm—and to ensure policy stays up to date in times of flux and uncertainty.

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The Financial Accountability Regime (FAR Bill) Draws Closer

The long-awaited Financial Accountability Regime (FAR Bill) will come into effect for the Australian banking industry on 15 March 2024 and for the Australian superannuation and insurance industries on 15 March 2025.

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Get the Message! Preserve eComms or Face Steep Regulatory Consequences

In recent months the SEC and CFTC have charged multiple Wall Street firms with widespread recordkeeping failures, handing down staggering penalties in excess of 1.5 billion dollars. Firms—including smaller ones—should only expect that the aggressive enforcement will continue.  And the SEC's Division of Examinations 2024 Priorities only reinforce the agency's continued focus on the importance of record keeping and demonstrable compliance. 

Are your books and records ready to stand up to regulatory scrutiny?

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The Intersection of Culture and Compliance

Employees at all levels of the organization make decisions that impact compliance every single day. To ensure that those decisions are wise ones, employees need to understand where they fit into the organization. If there's not a shared understanding of roles and responsibilities supported by controls and accountability there's a risk of chaotic compliance—and a chaotic culture across the firm.

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Financial Accountability Regime (FAR Bill) Passes Both Houses

Legislation has passed both Houses of the Australian Parliament to introduce the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR).

The 2023 Bill establishes a financial accountability regime to impose obligations on directors and senior executives of financial entities in the banking, insurance and superannuation industries. These obligations will cover accountability, key personnel, deferred remuneration and notification to Regulators (meaning APRA and ASIC collectively, or only APRA where it is the sole Regulator).

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