FAQs

Find answers to all the most frequently asked questions about compliance, the FCA and what it’s like to be our client.

Working with our consultants

Will I get a named consultant?

Yes. Once you commit to using us, a consultant will be allocated to you and will be your primary contact throughout our relationship. We believe this provides a level of consistency because the consultant really gets to know your business, so you don’t have to repeat yourself on each visit. People do occasionally move on, but if this happens, you’ll be allocated a new consultant and a full handover will be completed.

Our knowledge and experience

What qualifications do your consultants have?

All our consultants hold the minimum of CII Diploma (QCF4), with some holding the prestigious Chartered designation. They also have various specialist qualifications, such as pension transfers, advanced mortgages, long-term care, supervision and equity release. Should you decide to work with us, we’ll provide your consultant’s CV to help fulfil your due diligence requirements.

How do I know that my consultant is keeping their knowledge up to date?

We’re members of the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants and attend regular meetings with them, which often involve the FCA. All our consultants are Personal Finance Society and/or Charted Institute for Securities & Investment members and we’d be happy to share our CPD records with you.

Our contracts

Do I have to sign up to a long contract?

We find that most of our clients have a good idea about how much support they’ll need during the year, so our compliance packages make sense for them, as these spread costs. Bear in mind that the support packages provide discounted rates for committing to a minimum 12-month contract. We also offer our services on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) basis, with an ad hoc time-charged support contract, meaning you only pay for the time you use.

If I sign up to a retainer, how long am I committed for?

Our retainer contracts are open-ended, with a minimum 12-month commitment. Once the first 12 months is up, the contract can be cancelled by giving us four months’ notice.

When will I have to pay?

All payments for monthly retainer clients are by standing order. Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) services are invoiced on completion of the work for project work, or at the end of each month, with payment requested within 14 days.

What is the difference in the service I receive between retainer and pay-as-you-go (PAYG)?

There’s no difference in the services we offer. The difference is in the charging structures. Under a PAYG retainer, our hourly rate applies and you’ll be charged by the hour in increments of 15 minutes. For example, if you place a query with the helpdesk, the time taken to answer this would be billed in increments of 15 minutes, so if the query took 30 minutes to answer, your invoice would show 30 minutes. Our retainer options provide support time at a fixed price, with the cost spread over the year.

Our support

What type of companies do you support?

Small consumer credit firms to fund houses and everything in between. If you’re unsure whether we’d support you, give us a call for a no-obligation chat.

What can I expect from a B-Compliant support day?

Whatever you need! A support day can be anything from a general chat around themes and trends in the industry (which will count towards your CPD) through to a full compliance health check and everything in between.

Can you help us with a full FCA application?

Yes. We can help with all aspects of the application process, from a simple variation of permission to a full application. Visit our FCA authorisation page for more information.

What are your SLAs for file reviews?

We commit to completing pre-sale file reviews within three working days and post-sale within five working days.

I’m considering adopting discretionary permissions. Can you help me?

Yes. We have experts in the discretionary sector and can help from application to ensuring your documents are all in place, including ICAAP, Pillar 3, RTS 28, remunerations code and so on.

Do you provide template documents?

Yes. We have a full suite of template documents, all of which can be purchased separately, although our compliance packages do include varying levels of access to these. For firms that prefer to have a compliance manual, this can be provided at additional cost.

I’m an adviser and CF10/SM16. Can I outsource my compliance function to B-Compliant?

Though you can’t outsource your responsibility, you can outsource as much of the compliance work as you wish. This could be day-to-day things like maintaining registers, reviewing and updating policies and the collation of KPIs, or GABRIEL returns. Alternatively, you might like us to focus on more specialist areas, such as changes in regulation, completing adviser 1-2-1s and other T&C activities, or writing your PROD service and investment proposition document.

I’m with one of the big compliance support firms, and really like some of their services, but need more hands-on support. Do I have to leave them to work with you?

No. We appreciate that these big companies provide valuable discounts on software and research data and that isn’t our area of focus. Our service is hands-on, providing the manpower and knowledge to help you achieve your compliance obligations, so we’re happy to work alongside your existing provider.

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