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Our regulatory permissions compliance consulting services

Advice

Our compliance specialists can support you with transparent advice and problem-solving you can trust. We are knowledgeable and always at the forefront of regulation

We can provide guidance on regulatory permissions, launching a new product or service, responding to the regulator, dealing with an information request, providing feedback on documentation and so much more

Audit

Compliance audits come in various shapes and sizes. Whether you are in the Investments, Payment Services, Credit, Mortgages, Digital assets or General Insurance sector, we conduct robust audits across your business, to ensure you stay on the right side of the regulators. Some key audit focus areas include AML, safeguarding, CASS, systems & controls and MiFID II

Prudential Advice

From capital adequacy and FCA financial advice, to the Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR), our prudential advice will support your financial services business to meet the regulatory requirements around capital and liquidity, for investment firms and consolidated investment firm groups

Supervision & Enforcement

Our enforcement team can be there to navigate the risk, threat or reality of FCA supervision and enforcement action with you. We have extensive experience across the board including expert witness, VREQ, OIREQ, S165 and S166 and can support you to get your documents in order

Governance & Culture

The FCA’s Principles for Businesses - SYSC and the SM&CR all require firms to implement and evidence appropriate controls around governance and culture. We will help you better understand the flow of information within your business and develop a manageable governance framework

Consumer Duty

The FCA’s Consumer Duty, which will be implemented from July 2023, will set higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services and will require firms to put their customers’ needs first. We will help you better understand the FCA’s Consumer Duty requirements and have a range of tools available to help you do this 

ICARA

We provide guidance to SNI and Non-SNI MIFIDPRU firms on completing their MIF007 ICARA. Our prudential consultant will assist firms to prepare their ICARA process including capital and liquidity planning, stress testing, wind-down planning and recovery planning in order to meet the Overall Financial Adequacy Rule (OFAR). We also provide assistance with reviewing firms’ ICARA documentation to ensure compliance with FCA expectations

CASS Audits

Client assets (CASS) audits come in various shapes and sizes. Whether you are in the Investments, Credit, Digital Assets or General Insurance sector, we can conduct robust CASS audits across your business, to ensure you stay on the right side of the FCA’s CASS sourcebook 

Section 166 and Regulatory Reviews

Our specialist regulatory compliance consulting team has extensive experience in providing effective Section 165 and 166 support, helping firms navigate the process and resolve any issues efficiently.

We can help you prepare for FCA enforcement or a Section 166 visit by conducting mock interviews to test the readiness of your senior team, then coach them as necessary. We can also assess the robustness, effectiveness and adequacy of your policies and procedures, and develop these as necessary, helping you create a robust governance framework.

Supervisory training

We provide both online and workshop based supervisory training courses. Our team will delve into the intricacies of regulatory compliance for financial services firms, equipping clients with the knowledge and skills needed to ensure their organisations operate within regulatory frameworks.

Online training and webinars

We have developed a series of modular and structured online training courses, for example T&C Supervisors training and assessment, and are developing other courses covering advisory skills training.

Do not see the service you need? If it is financial service compliance-related, the chances are we do it. Get in touch to ask about your specific needs.
We also carry out all the above as part of our ongoing compliance services.

Onsite Projects

Sometimes we need to be on the ground with you, to really understand your business and how we can unravel your regulatory responsibilities. Get in touch to discuss project work onsite in your office, or on location for a period of time or fixed term secondment.

Our experience of working with Thistle Initiatives has been exceptionally good. After due consideration and comparison of various service providers, WMG Advisors engaged Thistle to perform an external review of our systems and controls, our policies and procedures and to provide ongoing training to meet our compliance needs. Thistle deployed serious resources to the project, and provided comprehensive analysis and recommendations. Thistle has responded quickly and clearly to all of our requests to date. We continue to be impressed with both the methodology and the people that we deal with throughout their organisation.
WMG

How we work

Step 1

A free consultation to discuss your business model and where you are right now

Step 2

Plan a tailor-made proposal, timeline and budget for your audit or advisory project

Step 3

We take a collaborative approach with clear action, and a commercial focus