The SMCR (Senior Managers Certification Regime) is mandatory for regulated firms in insurance, banking, and investments to continue trading. The SMCR deadline ends this week – the 31st March 2021 – being extended from its initial date in September 2020 due to coronavirus.
The SMCR was first introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) during 2016. It helps the financial watchdog to improve their regulation of financial institutions, extending to cover more than 60,000 UK entities, including the following:
- Banks
- Credit unions
- Building societies
- Consumer credit firms
- Claims management companies
- Financial advisers
- Electronic money and payment institutions
- General insurers and insurance intermediaries
- Life insurers
- Investment managers
- Pension providers
The regulation aims to increase accountability following the 2008 financial crisis, where many struggled to assign accountability after both firms and individuals suffered big losses. The SMCR, is therefore set to increase senior managers’ accountability when giving advice and processing substantial investments for their clients.
SMCR Online Courses from RQC Group
For those organisations registering with the SMCR, compliance consultancy RQC Group offer online courses, starting at £30.
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.
RQC Group’s SMCR courses range in cost, from £30 to £54 per course. All of the courses are available online, can be watched all in one go, or paused for the employee’s convenience.
The course is followed by a series of questions, that help to test employee’s understanding of the SMCR content that was just explored. Once the course has been completed, users will then be able to download a CPD-accredited course certificate.
The RQC Group also offers a free demo course to try out before opting for a paid-for option. This course is 15 minutes long and gives a feel for the experience of the courses available.