Prudential services

Our prudential team comprises of ex-regulators, accountants and risk experts, with the knowledge, expertise, and resource to meet your needs. We understand regulatory rules inside out and take a practical and commercial approach to every project. We deliver the support you require in a cost-effective way.

We specialise in several prudential requirements and arrangements, including:

• Capital and liquidity requirements governed under various regimes such as the IFPR and AIFMD;
• Regulatory reporting required under these requirements (e.g. MIFIDPRU returns and Annex IV reporting); and
• Risk management processes.

We also advise on the implementation of regulatory remuneration requirements, measures and arrangements.

We are members of various organisations such as AIMA and the Hedge Fund Association and engage proactively with the FCA.

IFPR

We can work with you to identify any gaps and advice on how you can strengthen your IFPR framework.

We provide advice on all stages of the Investment Firm Prudential Regime (IFPR).

Consolidation advice

We can advise on whether your firm is part of an investment firm group and if so, which entities should be included.  We can model the MIFIDPRU capital requirements on a consolidated basis, and, where appropriate, assist with your FCA application for the Group Capital Test which can result in a simpler reporting regime for groups.

Firms that apply the Group Capital Test are subject to different regulatory requirements than those that apply full prudential consolidation.

ICARA

Your ICARA should reflect your firm’s risk management processes and ensure that outcomes are integrated into everyday risk management and governance.

We support firms through this process by conducting reviews and helping to build their ICARA process from the bottom up.

We can establish risk management, stress testing and recovery planning frameworks, deliver workshops with teams and provide templates to support the ICARA process.

We have helped over 300 clients with their ICARA and can help you benchmark your firm against your peers, develop a process that stands up against regulatory scrutiny and produces documentation that accurately reflects your firms risks.

We support firms with their ICARA document at all stages of their regulatory journey, whether as part of their authorisation process or through a review to benchmark against FCA feedback and industry standards.

Wind down plan

The FCA expects firms to plan for an orderly wind down. For investment firms, the cost of this process should form part of their financial resource requirements.

We have seen the regulator focus on wind down planning in feedback letters across a range of firms, including payment service and consumer credit firms.

We help firms identify likely wind down scenarios and develop detailed operational plans, including assessing the financial and non-financial resources needed for an orderly wind down.

We have developed a wind down plan template that reflects the FCA’s guidance and supports firms in establishing plans that meets regulatory expectations.

 Risk management frameworks

A strong risk management framework is essential to meeting the FCA’s requirements.

We support firms in building and maintaining risk processes that not only underpin robust ICARA assessments but also strengthen day‑to‑day decision‑making across the business.

Our specialists provide end-to-end support across enterprise and compliance risk management, helping you develop, challenge and implement all components of your risk management framework.

Our services include:

• ICARA aligned risk management frameworks including review your risk management framework to ensure it is fit for purpose and can be effectively used to assess your Own Funds and Liquid Asset Threshold Requirements. Our specialists identify and assess key risks and potential harms by reviewing your internal governance, management structures, and controls. Following each review, we provide clear, practical feedback and recommendations, including enhancements to strengthen your overall framework.
• Overall risk management framework review and design including assessment and enhancement of your risk policies, target operating models and end-to-end risk lifecycles.
• Risk taxonomy development including the creation and refinement of a clear, scalable risk taxonomy aligned to your business model and ICARA requirements.
• Risk appetite setting including development of enterprise‑level and risk‑specific appetite statements, metrics, and thresholds.
• Risk assessment tools & methodologies including design and improvement of risk registers, RCSAs, risk & control matrices, scoring models, and harm‑based assessments.
• Measurement, monitoring & reporting including definition of KRIs, dashboards, escalation criteria, and reporting packs to support decision‑making (including ICARAs) and ongoing oversight.
• Ongoing risk management support including helping embedding risk processes into BAU, ensuring your framework stays accurate, current, and operationally integrated.

Due diligence assistance

When a regulated firm acquires or merges with another, the impact on capital and liquidity requirements can be significant. Purchasers will need assurance that the target firm holds adequate financial resources.

We advise on consolidation groups and the effect of merging firms with different prudential rules and assess how this may change group capital requirements.

We can carry out detailed reviews of governance documents including ICARAs and wind down plans to ensure you remain compliant.

Disclosures

Regulated firms are required to disclose certain information on their website on an annual basis.

We can support you by drafting or reviewing your firm’s regulatory disclosure document under MIFIDPRU requirements.

Remuneration

As a regulated firm, you are required to comply with remuneration requirements governed under various Codes such as the MIFIDPRU and AIFMD Remuneration Codes.

You are also required to document how your firm complies with these requirements in a remuneration policy.

Under Remuneration Codes such as MIFIDPRU, it is a regulatory requirement for certain firms to carry out annual central and independent review of their remuneration policy and arrangements.

We can draft or review your firm’s remuneration policy and provide feedback where required. We can also prepare or review your firm’s remuneration regulatory forms, including the MIF008.Training

We offer tailored training and workshops across key prudential and risk topics, including:

• ICARA requirements and implementation
• Reporting workshops
• Risk appetite frameworks
• Governance arrangements
• Harm assessments
• Control frameworks

Our training supports your team in understanding their roles and responsibilities within the risk lifecycle, governance & controls review

We perform independent reviews of your governance and control environment against FCA expectations, including:

• Management structures and accountability
• Risk management processes and control mechanisms
• Policies and procedures to ensure clarity, consistency, and alignment with FCA expectations
• Committee structures and effectiveness

We can also support the establishment or enhancement of Risk, Remuneration, and Nomination Committees where required.

We assist in the development and enhancement of key policies.

Ad hoc queries

Our prudential experts help answer any ad hoc questions or worries you might have. As your business changes, our team will help you understand the regulatory impact and deal with it appropriately. We can help support the prudential impacts from change in control and variation in permission applications.