Adviser compliance firm SimplyBiz will add to its support services in preparation for the Senior Managers and Certification Regime later this year but has made assurances for most firms the new rules will be "relatively straightforward".
The regime has already been rolled out to banks and insurance companies and after December 9 it will apply to all 47,000 companies the FCA regulates.
Under the SMCR, anyone who holds a senior management function will need to be approved by the FCA and every senior manager will need to fill out a statement of responsibilities explaining what they are responsible for.
The FCA hopes the regime will help establish healthy cultures and effective governance in companies by encouraging greater individual accountability and establishing a new standard of personal conduct.
Neil Stevens, joint chief executive at SimplyBiz, said the business would be adding extra features to its service in preparation for the new regulation, alongside an expansion of its compliance teams, but urged the requirements were already practiced by a lot of advice firms.
He said: "We think our job is to help people understand regulation and in doing that not make it bigger than it needs to be. So the SMCR is relatively straightforward for most firms.
"The very principles of accountability and customer care and their focus on doing a good thing and being accountable for it, that really is the essence of these firms that are directly authorised.
"So, we will be adding some extra technology functions to our back office, we will be adding some extra functions to our training and competency platform but really we'll be making SMCR simple to deal with for firms rather than trying to make more of it than it is in reality."
In its half year results published on Tuesday (September 10) the company said it had invested in expanding its compliance and policy teams during H2 2018 and H1 2019 as a means to supporting members through the impending SMCR.
SimplyBiz said the increasing burden of regulation in the advice market was a "tailwind" for its business, claiming new regulation created "opportunities" for the group to provide support to its members through additional paid-for service offerings.
It announced income from additional services had increased by 9 per cent to £2.4m in the first half of this year, up from £2.2m in the first six months of 2018.
Matt Timmins, joint chief executive at SimplyBiz, said: "We find the one thing that never stays still in our industry is regulation and every time regulation increases or changes or extra pressures are put on intermediaries we find an increase in demand from people looking to outsource to firms like ourselves."
Revenues at the company grew by 20 per cent to £29.1m, as revenues in its intermediary services division, which currently provides support to 3,704 financial advisers, mortgage advisers and consumer credit brokers, also grew.
Membership fee income in the company's organic business grew by 12.9 per cent to £5.1m in the first half of this year, compared with the same six months in 2018.
Speaking with FTAdviser SimplyBiz said it had no intention of increasing its fees, which have remained the same for the last 17 years.
The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment has also published guidance for firms in the final countdown to the SMCR after speaking with its members and finding a need for further context on the conduct rules included in the incoming regime.
The guidance links the five conduct rules specified by the FCA, requirements such as acting with integrity and due care and diligence, with the CISI's own code of conduct by which all of its members must comply.
Rebecca Aston, head of professional standards at the CISI, said: "Our own discussions with firms have shown that there is a need for a resource dedicated to providing further context on each of the conduct rules – which, by themselves, are quite open-ended.
"So, we spent some time developing our toolkit as a resource for members to use – both before and after the extension of the SMCR. Each of the five conduct rules are explained as they relate back to our code of conduct principles."
She added: "Ultimately we are aiming to fully equip our members with as much accessible information as possible to ensure that no stone is left unturned in their efforts to provide a first-class, financial services experience for the consumer."
The five conduct rules as specified by the FCA are:
You must act with integrity
You must act with due care, skill and diligence
You must be open and cooperative with the FCA, the PRA and other regulators
You must pay due regard to the interests of customers and treat them fairly
You must observe proper standards of market conduct.
rachel.mortimer@ft.com
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