The long-awaited deadline for SMCR has finally passed this week, ending on 31st March 2021.
The SMCR, which stands for Senior Managers and Certification Regime, was launched by the FCA recently to maximise accountability for high risks and investments for the 60,000 regulated firms in the UK.
Following the collapse of the economy in 2008, many senior managers went under the radar and did not face justice for huge sums of losses incurred by their clients and partners. The SMCR regime aims to overcome this. With this legislation in place, the individual managers are held responsible for any potential losses, especially where investments are at risk.
Of the 60,000 regulated firms, each senior manager should be fully trained and compliant, including credit unions, banks, lenders, investment companies, brokers, transfer firms and those offering consumer credit.
Some firms were in a mad rush to get SMCR compliant, despite the deadline being delayed by more than 3 months due to COVID-19. However, all is not lost to still get fully trained for SMCR purposes, especially since the legislation is ongoing. One compliance consultancy firm has prepared a series of online courses that firms can use at this leisure, starting from just £30.00 per course.
The RQC Group offers an SMCR online course, whereby organisations and their employees can get a CPD-accredited course certificate upon completion. Courses range from 30 to 45 minutes, covering a broad range of topics such as:
- SMCR Overview – a great course to start with, that applies to all levels of entities that provide financial services.
- SMCR Senior Manager’s Regime – has been tailored to help improve accountability at the very top level.
- SMCR Certification Regime – whereby key employees of an entity will have to be vetted every year. This helps to make sure they are capable, and follow regulations properly.
- SMCR Conduct Rules – a new code of conduct that has been introduced for the financial services industry, applying across the board to employees.
An RQC Group spokesperson has commented the following on the new release of cybersecurity courses:
“We are very excited to be introducing more online courses which allow managers and their employees to stop, start, pick up, fast-forward and rewind at their convenience. We offer a Q&A at the end, allowing users to consolidate their learnings and test their knowledge.”
“We acknowledge the growing nature of cybersecurity and its paramount importance in today’s financial world. Employers and managers should embrace the opportunity to access vital knowledge and information through our virtual courses, whether taking them in the office or when working remotely.”
