Helping UKFCS Gain Confidence and Peace of Mind
Ben Mason
5 October 2021
“The fear – and I don’t use that word lightly – is that one day the FCA is going to knock on your door and go: ‘What have you been up to for the last ten years?’
It happens and it’s easy to imagine the disruption that question would have for a business. And that’s assuming their compliance team can eventually give the FCA the information and evidence it has requested.
It’s enough to keep any regulated business leader awake at night. And it’s a fear shared by businesses we work with across all FCA-regulated sectors.
It was the same with UKFCS Mortgage Specialists and one of the reasons that propelled Managing Director, Danny Carter, to bring in My Compliance Centre.
“If you get kicked off a lender’s panel for bad practices, not being in control of compliance or just letting things through the net, it could be fatal for your business.”
Which is why Danny is so pleased with what My Compliance Centre gives him.
A Digital Footprint of Evidence
When you’re an FCA-regulated firm, it’s vital you can evidence your compliance.
“With My Compliance Centre, you’ve got everything all under one roof. And I think the key thing for us is leaving that digital footprint of evidence on everything you’re doing now, rather than relying on saving things on manual documents in your own files.”
Danny has a background in banking, having worked for Barclays Bank for ten years. And like our CEO, Ben Mason, he’s someone who has always been fascinated by tech and what it enables you to do.
How does My Compliance Centre benefit Danny personally? It allows him to sleep at night.
“As someone said to me when I was working at the bank: ‘If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen’. Now you’ve got that footprint on there. It just takes that ambiguity away.”
An Additional Insurance Policy
As well as giving them peace of mind, Danny says My Compliance Centre helps them demonstrate to lenders that they take compliance seriously.
“I think it’s important to demonstrate not only can you write levels of business, but actually you know what you’re doing, and you take the compliance aspects of it seriously.”
And Danny sees My Compliance Centre as like having a quasi-accreditation.
When explaining to lenders how UKFCS manages compliance, Danny can just show them the sales document from our website and say: ‘Look, we do it properly. We took the full package and it works for us’.
“It’s an investment in terms of what it can do. It makes your life easier in terms of monitoring and managing compliance. But it’s also like an additional insurance policy.”
A FileChecker Fan
With age and experience comes a certain degree of cynicism. And preparedness.
“You have to think every client is going to complain. So, being able to document everything that’s gone on is key to any bit of work we do – to protect ourselves, and the clients and advisors, if any sort of disputes arise.”
And so, Danny appreciates the flexibility of My Compliance Centre’s FileChecker module.
“What I like about the system is it is very flexible if you need to add things or take things away.”
Confidence to Manage Risk
Danny explains how over the last couple of years UKFCS has set up an AR network. And he’s very pleased with the support that Jenny and others at My Compliance Centre give the business.
“We’re allowing authorised representatives to come and work under our banner. Having a system like this gives us the confidence to go out and manage that risk.”
Moreover, UKFCS are planning to grow their network. My Compliance Centre gives them the confidence to do so.
“Having these centralised systems in place, where you can monitor, gives us the confidence to grow that side of the business.”
Unburdening Your Workload
My Compliance Centre also allows Danny to delegate a lot of tasks that he would previously have had to do himself.
“Even something as basic as being able to set up users and outsource tasks. It unburdens the workload on me.”
Before My Compliance Centre, how easy would it have been to delegate?
“Historically, when you’re using manual templates, by the time you’d shown someone how to do that, it would have been quicker just to have done it yourself. So, it makes things more effective in terms of time management as an executive, for sure.”
Making Your Business More Scalable
And having others who are able to use the system means that the business is not reliant on just one person.
“It makes the business more scalable. So, if one day you want to exit and sell, then you’re not the only person who knows how to use the compliance system.
“If the tech can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, and you have outsourced points of contact within the business, then it’s not reliant on me or anyone else.”
Discover how My Compliance Centre can give you peace of mind and help you manage risk