Investment Business Compliance Review
Are You Compliant with Investment Business Regulations?
Our investment business compliance review helps you determine whether you are compliant with investment business regulations? Under the Investment Intermediaries Act (IIA), 1995, and its amendments, firms providing investment business services require appropriate authorisation, based on the category of the investment business services they provide. It is a criminal offence to provide even generic investment business advice without authorisation.
For most Irish accountancy practices, investment business activities are classified as being ‘incidental’ to the core service offering. Typically, this is where investment business-related fees and commissions are less than 20% of the firm’s gross fee income*.
Where this is the case, your professional body (rather than the Financial Regulator) is responsible for regulating and authorising your firm.
The legislation requires you to review your compliance with regulations at least every 12 months (or at least once every 18 months, where there has been no new business during the preceding year). And a written record of these reviews must be maintained for inspection for a minimum of six years. In addition, you may be subject to an investment business monitoring visit from your institute.
*Please refer to OmniPro’s Investment Business Procedures Manual for a more complete definition.
We will assess whether you are authorised at the appropriate level, the robustness of your practices and procedures and how well they are implemented in practice
To schedule your Investment Business Compliance Review, email us or call us today on 053-9100000. We look forward to working with your practice.
How We Can Help
Our experienced review team will assess whether you are authorised at the appropriate level; the robustness of your practices and procedures; how well they are implemented in practice and whether they fulfil all regulatory requirements.
Key issues reviewed on the day will include the nature of advice given and documentation of both written and verbal advice; research carried out on behalf of clients; the engagement letter; appointments held from product providers and commissions received for investment advice.
We will also review your CPD files, and we will assess the strength and application of your internal procedures in areas such as information sought about and provided to customers; conflicts of interest, managing customer assets; financial resources; internal organisation and complaints handling.
We will conduct three to five cold file reviews depending on time constraints.
The review will end with a full de-brief meeting with the partners, followed by a written report highlighting any areas of weakness and providing a practical action plan to bring your firm into.
OmniPro’s Investment Business Compliance Review provides an independent, thorough health check of your practice’s investment business compliance and an action plan to address any areas of weakness. Our report can be used for your institute’s annual return and to ensure that you are well prepared for a quality monitoring visit.
Benefit From Our Experience
The deliverables for your practice will include a closing meeting with the partners to review any findings and discuss recommendations; a documented IBCR form for your files and an action plan outlining any steps required to achieve full compliance with regulations.
Many practices also use our findings to determine priorities for ongoing staff training and development, and where relevant, the report can be used to complete for your institute’s annual return.
The Investment Business Compliance Review - In Detail
Replicating an institute monitoring visit, our assessment of your investment business compliance will include the following
- A review of invoices raised to identify potential investment business work
- A review of commissions received to ensure correct disclosure and consent has been obtained
- A check on compliance with the non-investment business and investment business client money regulations
- A check on compliance with the regulations relating to letterheads, brochures and other client communications/marketing collateral
- A review of corporate finance advice
- File structure
- A review of internal procedures, training and CPD
- A review of three to five files, chosen from the client listing