Financial Services Risk and Regulatory Practice

Compliance and regulatory risk management are becoming increasingly important in these troubled times.

Our Financial Services Risk and Regulatory Practice helps you understand and manage the complex risks and regulatory environment that surrounds much of the financial services industry. The services we offer cover:

If you would like to talk to one of our Financial Services regulatory specialists and learn how else we can help you, please contact Fiona Raistrick or your local BDO adviser.

Regulatory advice

The quantity of legislation, guidance and other communications coming your way can be daunting in this time of regulatory change. To understand the impact on your firm of changes in the regulatory environment, we are able to provide:

  • Tailored impact assessments
  • Bespoke training courses
  • Health checks
  • Tools for self audit
  • Quality reviews on submissions to the Financial Services Authority (FSA)
  • One-to-one discussions

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FSA authorisation

We can assist with many aspects of the FSA authorisation process including:

  • Preparing and reviewing financial forecasts
  • Advising on and assisting with regulatory capital requirements
  • Providing advice on appropriate capital structures
  • Reviewing or assisting in implementing detailed systems and controls requirements

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Compliance reviews and support

Whether you are a company with an established compliance department wanting a one-off review of one part of your compliance regime, or a small business looking for more of a helping hand, we can assist with:

  • Reviews and development of existing internal compliance and corporate governance arrangements
  • Assurance reviews on specific topics, for example, ICAAP and MiFID
  • Training compliance staff and senior management

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Specialist reviews and reports

We can help with the preparation and execution of a wide variety of specialist projects including:

  • Section 166 Skilled Persons reports
  • Corporate Finance due diligence, restructuring and refinancing reviews
  • Advice on varying permissions or deregistering from FSA authorisation

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Money laundering and financial crime

Our money laundering and financial crime specialists have substantial technical knowledge of the FSA rules and Joint Money Laundering Steering Group Guidance Notes, together with international investigative experience.

Our primary objective is to help you meet regulatory requirements and follow industry best practice.

Our risk-based approach can lead to substantial cost savings and reduction in risks, leaving you and your business to concentrate on real money-laundering threats while providing a better service to lower-risk customers.

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Internal audit

It is imperative you demonstrate you have adequate controls and safeguards in place to help provide your board, through its audit committee, with reassurance that risks are being adequately managed throughout the organisation, within an agreed risk appetite.

Our internal audit services, including co-sourced and out-sourced internal audit and effectiveness reviews, offer independent, objective technical and specialist expertise to support you in reviews of the design, implementation and operating effectiveness of controls.

We can also benchmark your business against current best practice and provide assurance to your board and audit committee that your internal audit is appropriately focused, delivering value and managed effectively within the objectives of an internal audit charter or plan.

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Governance and risk management

Our highly experienced team is committed to helping you enhance your corporate governance through an integrated approach to risk management, to help you build and protect your franchise and shareholder value whilst balancing the requirements of other stakeholders.

This philosophy, and a commitment to providing an integrated approach that is fit for purpose, underpins our provision of the following services:

  • Board effectiveness (both self and/or stakeholder) assessment diagnostics
  • Governance and risk management benchmarking
  • Enterprise-wide risk management including framework design, implementation and reviews
  • Operational risk management services including risk identification, causal analysis, categorisation, risk and control self-assessment, monitoring and reporting
  • Risk management systems selection and implementation
  • Credit risk management and portfolio assessment
  • IT risk and control reviews, IT security services and business continuity planning
  • Management information reporting, including appropriateness and review diagnostics
  • Capital management issues around Basel II, ICAAP and Solvency II regulations
  • Performance and proficiency reviews (internal audit and risk management)

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