What does SM&CR mean for you and your organisation?

From December 2019, Senior Manager & Certification Regime (SM&CR) will be extended to cover all regulated firms.

So how will the changes it brings affect single regulated firms – and what do they need to do to get appropriate systems and controls in place in good time? In this article, we look at what SM&CR is and how it affects your organisation. SM&CR aims to reduce harm to consumers and strengthen market integrity by making individuals more accountable for their conduct and competence.

Specifically, SM&CR aims to encourage a culture in which staff at all levels take personal responsibility for their actions, ensuring firms and their staff clearly understand – and can demonstrate – where responsibility lies.

Critically, SM&CR aims to embed personal responsibility into the functions held by the Boards and Senior Managers of regulated firms.

What firms are affected under SM&CR?

There will be three tiers of firm affected under the SM&CR:

1. Core

Firms in this tier will have to comply with the baseline requirements of SM&CR.

2. Enhanced

This will apply to a small number of firms whose size, complexity and potential impact on consumers or markets warrant more attention. These firms will have additional requirements.

3. Limited scope

This will apply to firms that already have exemptions under the Approved Persons Regime. These firms will be exempt from some baseline requirements and will typically have fewer senior management functions. Senior Managers and Certification Staff will need to have been trained and abide by the Conduct Rules from the start of the new regime. Firms will have 12 months to put in place processes to comply with the training and reporting requirements and train their other staff on the Conduct Rules.

SM&CR defines prescribed responsibilities that each firm must review and allocate to a member of the Senior Management team. Known as the Management Responsibilities Map, a firm must keep a responsibilities map that outlines the areas of responsibility that is kept up to date.

Each individual is required to hold a Statement of Responsibility that builds on the responsibilities map and outlines the areas the individual is personally responsible for. This will be augmented by a Handover Document that must be kept up to date to account for a planned or unplanned succession. For Senior Managers, the core concepts that affect individual accountability are as follows:

Senior Management Functions

The PRA and FCA have established a combined list of Senior Management Functions (SMFs) requiring regulatory pre-approval and who are subject to the SMR.

The Certification Regime

Certification covers specific functions that aren’t Senior Management Functions but can have a significant impact on customers, the firm and/or market integrity.

Fitness and Propriety

SM&CR requires firms to evidence how they have established that an individual is fit and proper to carry out the Senior Management or Certified function.

Providing GDPR training ensures all of your staff have the information to understand the GDPR. Learning Pool’s GDPR compliance module demonstrates how your organisation and staff can ensure compliance and avoid heavy penalties. All employees are responsible for compliance, and it’s very important that they’re aware of this. This course will highlight how they can help protect people’s personal data.

Upon completing this course your learners will be able to define the key elements within GDPR, understand the penalties, know the importance of consent, how they play a role and what to do in the event of a personal data breach.

Firms are required to train relevant staff on how our Conduct Rules apply to their role and a Senior Manager must be allocated the personal responsibility for this. Learning Pool’s SM&CR module demonstrates how your organisation and staff can ensure compliance. Senior Managers are responsible for compliance, and it’s important that they’re aware of this as they are now accountable for the actions of the business as a whole.

Learners will be certified, compliant and will understand the importance of the certification regime. The FCA’s approach to implementation and how it replaces the current Approved Persons Regime (APR). Key learning within this module is categorised into articles focusing on:

• An overview of SM&CR
• Senior Managers Regime
• Certification Regime
• Fit and Proper requirements
• Conduct rules
• Breach reporting requirements
• Timelines for implementation

To find out more about getting your staff ready for SM&CR, contact us and get your 7 day free trial. For further reading, why not check out our blog on the Insurance Distribution Directive.