The Compliance Plan (the Plan) is a valuable tool. It enables you to crystallise your thoughts. The Plan spans the forthcoming twelve months and sets out the action you intend to take during that time to secure compliance with your regulator's rules. It also takes account of any changes planned by the regulator, and your own ideas to develop more efficient systems and controls.

Areas typically covered in the Plan could include your intentions to: develop databases to assist with complaint and rule breach handling, develop systems to track progress in resolving the issues that emerge during compliance monitoring activity or track and record the progress of advertising and marketing materials through your approval process. Other areas covered in the Plan might include: details of the 'compliance awareness' type training you intend to provide to the business, your compliance monitoring programme, your plans to carry out a programme of ongoing risk assessment, and the form and frequency of compliance reports you intend to provide to the Board. The Plan will indicate who will undertake the work, their qualifications and experience. The firm's Board normally ratifies the Plan.

The 'calendar', (which may form part of the Plan) is a scheduling tool. It takes account of the items that appear in the Plan, and also routine tasks, which would not normally appear in the Plan (for example, the preparation of periodic regulatory returns and management information). Naturally, the calendar is also a resource-planning tool. ACL can assist you to develop a Plan, a calendar, or both.

< go back to Services