On Wednesday 17th November, the Worksmart team joined colleagues around the globe to discuss our newly launched regulatory solution, Accord – Singapore to help Financial Institutions manage the recently introduced Individual Accountability & Conduct Regime (IAR).
It’s interesting to note that the UK has centre stage when it comes to accountability regimes and those that have been introduced here in the UK are seen as the “gold standard” around the globe. As a result of that, it’s no wonder that the expertise of the Worksmart team is in great demand both with Trade Bodies and their members, and with prospects looking to improve on existing arrangements.
As the concept of greater accountability and stronger governance within firms is supported by regulatory intervention, it was our pleasure to help share “lessons learnt” from being the number one SM&CR solution provider here in the UK in order to help our colleagues in Singapore who are currently focused on implementing their own IAR regime as defined by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
It struck me, as it did my colleagues, that as a regulatory initiative, IAC like SM&CR before it has the opportunity to bring teams together in firms for the greater good of the organisation both at the point of implementation and in BAU.
Why do I say that you might ask?
Well, for all of the implementations that we have undertaken here in the UK, collaboration and teamwork definitely make for an easier and more effective project.
So, seeing our UK firms attending this webinar together with their colleagues in Singapore was definitely a positive indicator from our perspective.
With any accountability regime, in any jurisdiction, with the focus on Individual Accountability, clarity, transparency and evidential record keeping (to name but a few elements.) , can firms achieve this by managing their regimes on spreadsheets? No – very unlikely! If a regulator visits your firm, what might they think when a) firms are slow to be able to answer the questions raised (because it’s buried somewhere in some spreadsheet that you can’t quite lay your hands on) or b) a firm that through the lack of effective systems and controls is unable to demonstrate adherence to regulatory expectations, giving details of who was accountable for what and when.
Bearing in mind Accountability Regimes have become the backbone of strengthening corporate governance, the question that firms and Senior Managers should be asking themselves now should be something along these lines in my opinion – “What does my approach to managing any accountability regime tell the regulator about my commitment to this “flagship” piece of regulation?” Now, if that question makes firms and individuals uncomfortable due to the lack of effective oversight that could be more effectively provided by RegTech, then now is the time to talk to us. The multi award-winning team at Worksmart have more experience of supporting firms with their Accountability Regimes than any others, and for firms that want to integrate IAR with a wider set of established people management processes, Accord Singapore has the in-built functionality that can extend beyond Fitness and Probity into a single view of employee conduct and competence so let us help you and share what we know.
If you would like to know more about our IAC Singapore solution, click here or contact our friendly and knowledgeable team on: 01908 613613 or email us on: info@worksmart.co.uk
To ensure you don’t miss out on our other upcoming blogs, click here to join more than 10,000 other subscribers and keep up to date with our latest news, products, webinars and publications.