Time for a Spring Clean with our SMCR Process Review

As with many things, your SMCR processes can be hindered by habit. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of doing it a certain way because “that’s how it’s always been done”, rather than considering if it is actually the best or most efficient way of working. SMCR, in particular, can be tricky to navigate if teams across the organisation don’t have a coordinated approach or if the process needs too much manual input.

Now is the ideal time to have a spring clean of your processes and make sure managing your SMCR is as simple and smooth as it can be. We can help you to look at this holistically so you can implement anything that works well across your whole organisation and highlight any areas that could be improved.

Why you need to review your SMCR processes

Have you been through the SMCR regulatory framework this year? How was it? Stressful? Time-consuming? It doesn’t have to be. Or maybe you found it okay but are worried about how the SMCR review might impact your organisation. Reviewing and updating your processes now can save you time, and therefore money, in the long run.

Through our experience working with numerous firms on their SMCR, we’ve discovered that the rules set out by the FCA are often interpreted differently across organisations, and even occasionally within companies. We can work with you to ensure your organisation understands how to apply the rules so that everyone is working to the same agenda and that senior managers understand what is expected of them and how to provide evidence.

Many organisations will have multiple departments that are involved in SMCR, it’s not always a given that they will be following the same procedure. Similarly, the new way of hybrid working can make it even harder to ensure that the correct processes are being followed. By stepping back and looking at the whole process you can align your systems so that everyone is working together. It also allows you to cut out any unnecessary processes or adapt them to simplify and streamline wherever possible.

The majority of firms we work with fall into two clear scenarios

How we approach your spring clean will depend on your current SMCR process.

Scenario 1: You follow a manual process for your SMCR obligations

If your company is still reliant on multiple and/or overcomplicated spreadsheets to manage your compliance, we can run a full diagnostic review to understand what is working well and how you could simplify your process. We can also offer training to both individuals and across your organisation to ensure everyone understands what is required of them and the best practices to follow. We can provide guidance on all aspects of SMCR compliance from implementing new processes to ongoing monitoring and make recommendations on software or processes that could help to simplify things for you.

Scenario 2: You use SMCR software but it hasn’t been the full solution you hoped

If you are currently using SMCR software to manage your processes we can still help. The software alone won’t solve all SMCR-related issues if senior managers still don’t understand the process or what’s required of them. Some off-the-shelf systems may also require workarounds to fit in with your processes. We can work with your organisation to review your systems and your current technology to find the right combination that works for you.

No matter what stage you are at with SMCR, we can help.

Our process to support your business is simple and efficient and can be completed in a matter of weeks, helping you see improvements quickly.

• Consult – we work with you to understand your current processes to determine what is working well and where there is room for improvement.
• Train – we offer bespoke training to ensure your organisation understands what you need to manage and maintain SMCR compliance.
• Software – we can help you get set up with software that will make managing your compliance simple.

Recent industry studies show that there is a real need to embrace regtech in compliance functions. When considering the cost implications of the time and resources spent on manual processes, utilising software gives a clear return on investment. You can read more on this in our previous blog post “Regtech; the future of compliance”.

It’s important to take time to regularly review SMCR processes to ensure that you are maximising resources and efficiency in an often-complicated process. If you would like to speak to us about how we can help you to spring clean your SMCR get in touch to set up a call.