MyComplianceOffice Blog

With the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) set to take effect on Dec. 9, solo-regulated financial firms in the U.K. are working hard to ensure they understand how the new rules will impact them and what they should consider when implementing new compliance measures.  

The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) will apply to all solo U.K. firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) starting this December. There are three main requirements organizations need to adhere to from both a compliance and human resources perspective to comply with the SMCR by the end of the year.  

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. 

It’s only six months until the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)’s new Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) requirements take effect. It’s important to remember as of December 9, 2019, a senior manager may be held personally liable for breaches in SMCR requirements. The FCA has made it clear it does not matter if the senior manager was involved in the breach. They will still be held accountable if the breach occurred as a result in their failure to execute on their SMCR responsibilities.  

The UK Bribery Act was implemented nearly eight years ago, but no case law exists to offer organizations an interpretation of corporate hospitality rules. The sole source of guidance to date has been from the Ministry of Justice in 2011.