JFSC Compliance monitoring webinar – feedback and findings from the JFSC

On Wednesday, 24 February at 14:00, Amanda Reilly, the JFSC Examinations Head of Unit and Senior Manager, Nicky Fagan, hosted a webinar on Compliance monitoring (CMP).

The JFSC wished to remind regulated businesses of the importance of CMP after it identified several repeated findings during the themed examination it carried out last year. Overall, the results highlighted several companies were not adhering to the guidance it published in December 2013.

And some of the key findings related to:

1. Policies and procedures,
2. Record-keeping,
3. Corporate governance, and
4. Risk assessments.

The webinar covered:

1. What compliance monitoring is and why it is important
2. Regulatory requirements
3. Findings from our recent CMP thematic
4. What action it will be taking following the thematic
5. What action it expect Industry to be taking

The key issues from the webinar were:-

JFSC SAY Effective compliance monitoring (CMP) is an invaluable process that enables senior management to

1. Demonstrate that they have implemented and maintained adequate and effective systems and controls.
2. Ensure that the processes are being complied with and
3. Ensure timely action is being taken to remedy any deficiencies brought to their attention.

And critical areas to consider.

1. Effective compliance monitoring needs P&Ps and Testing
2. Timescales for remediation needs to be in the P&P’s
3. Record-keeping –
   • Board minutes are not capturing the discussions around compliance matters/CMP – they should include what was done, how it was done and when it was done
4. Corporate Governance –
   • Not evident that the BRA was being reviewed and approved by the board regularly.
5. Key persons –
   • Companies couldn’t demonstrate that compliance with the regulatory framework was being undertaken by the compliance officer.
6. Regulatory breaches are not being reported to the JFSC – lack of transparency
7. Lack of independence by board members who are also based within the compliance teams.
8. CMP not reviewed on a regular basis
9. CMP not mapped to the BRA