Full Description
Recently taken on the role of COLP or COFA for your firm? If so you're probably already busy working with your firm to ensure the numerous regulatory obligations are met. Integrating these roles and responsibilities effectively within the firm and striving to assert authority to ensure compliance is taken seriously is proving a mammoth task for those new to the roles. However, help is at hand. Managing Partner's COLP and COFA: Compliance in Practice, second edition will be published in just 2 weeks! Packed with new and up-to-date case studies, examples, and advice, this critical guide offers practical support to help you meet the SRA requirements and use your position to maximum benefit. Fully updated, the second edition takes into account version 7 of the Handbook and includes practical examples and advice on: The responsibilities of the COLP and COFA; What a compliance plan should contain; What taking all 'reasonable steps' to ensure compliance means; Reporting non-compliance and what 'material' non-compliance might include; The relationship between the SRA and the COLP and COFA; and, The most recent SRA guidance for COLPs and COFAs and advice on interpreting the guidance in everyday practice. New and up-to-date case studies and expert commentary are included, for example on: The challenges currently being faced by COLPs and COFAs in practice; The early experiences of a COLP in an ABS - David Hartley, Abbey Protection Group Limited; The reporting accountant's perspective on the role of the COFA - Rowan Williams, Head of Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Professional Practice Team; The similarities to the MLRO role; and, The nuts and bolts of compliance. Practical worked examples of issues to consider with regard to materiality of breaches are included, along with a sample risk register identifying issues, potential risks, and suggested solutions. You'll also find new real-life scenarios from a large international firm highlighting the compliance issues they have faced and how they have successfully dealt with them. Ensure you are better placed to achieve a low risk rating for your firm and avoid falling under the scrutiny of the SRA's new supervision regime.
Contents
Executive summary ... VII About the authors ... XI Acknowledgements ... XIII Part One: Taking on the new compliance officer roles Chapter 1: The requirement to have a COLP and COFA ... 3 The background to the roles ... 3 Who may undertake these roles? ... 4 What do the roles entail? ... 5 Chapter 2: Appointing the COLP and COFA ... 9 Who is likely to be suitable? ... 9 Skills, knowledge, and experience ... 9 The time factor and other considerations ... 10 The COFA role - Specific considerations ... 10 COLP and COFA - The same person? ... 11 Buying in a COLP and/or COFA ... 12 The COLP and COFA must be 'designated' as such and 'consent' ... 12 Getting the COLP and COFA approved ... 12 The approval process ... 13 Do the COLP and COFA need job descriptions? ... 14 Objective setting ... 15 Chapter 3: Working with your regulator ... 17 Regulatory objectives and a changed approach to regulation ... 17 How the SRA will identify and classify risk ... 18 Information collection to assess risk ... 20 How the information will be used ... 22 What will the SRA expect of firms and their COLPs and COFAs? ... 24 What can the SRA do to the COLP and COFA when things do go wrong? ... 25 Chapter 4: Risk and how this might be managed ... 27 Taking all 'reasonable steps' to ensure compliance ... 27 Identifying, monitoring and managing risks to compliance - What might the SRA expect? ... 27 IV Developing risk management tools - Suggestions for a risk register ... 28 How do you demonstrate that you have 'effective systems and controls in place'? ... 29 The role of the department heads/managers in compliance ... 30 The role of quality assurance schemes in supporting compliance ... 30 COLP and COFA - The nuts and bolts of ensuring compliance ... 31 Part Two: The COLP's guide Chapter 5: An introduction to the COLP's responsibilities ... 39 The extent of the COLP's responsibilities contrasted with the role of the firm's managers ... 39 Help! Where do we start with systems and controls? ... 41 Chapter 6: The SRA Code of Conduct 2011 - Issues for the COLP ... 45 Suggestions for systems and controls ... 48 Chapter 7: Achieving Outcomes - How should this be monitored? ... 59 Is your control appropriate? ... 59 Keeping up to date ... 60 Learning lessons from the Legal Ombudsman ... 62 Are the systems being used? ... 63 Training - Horses for courses ... 63 The importance of file reviews to monitor compliance ... 66 Other tools to monitor compliance ... 68 Chapter 8: Identifying, recording, and reporting non-compliance ... 71 How will the COLP know what they need to know? ... 73 Record-keeping ... 74 Identifying material breaches - Where to start ... 76 The role of the management team in dealing with non-compliance ... 79 Common breaches ... 80 Part Three: The COFA's guide Chapter 9: An introduction to the COFA's responsibilities ... 85 Base position - What skill sets are needed? ... 85 Chapter 10: The importance of an in-depth knowledge of the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 ... 87 What is in the SRA Accounts Rules 2011? ... 88 What's changed? ... 93 Chapter 11: Implementing suitable systems and procedures ... 99 General notes in Appendix 3 ... 100 Receipt of client money ... 100 Contents COLP and COFA: Compliance in Practice V Payments from client account ... 101 The overall control of client accounts ... 101 Chapter 12: Outcomes-focused flexibility in the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 ... 103 What should be in the firm's interest policy? ... 105 File and ledger reviews ... 106 Chapter 13: Identifying, recording and reporting non-compliance with the Accounts Rules ... 109 Common breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules ... 109 Areas of concern ... 109 Recording non-compliance and assessing material breaches ... 110 What is a material breach? ... 111 What would you do? Worked examples ... 112 Chapter 14: The COFA's wider relationships and responsibilities ... 117 Working with others ... 117 The role of the reporting accountant and the accountant's report ... 117 The reporting accountant's perspective on the role of the COFA ... 118 The bigger picture - The financial health of the firm and individuals within it ... 121 Latest pointers from the SRA ... 123 Final thoughts on the role of the COFA ... 125 Part Four: Personal perspectives Chapter 15: Personal considerations for the COLP and COFA ... 129 A path finding role ... 129 The relationship of the COLP and COFA with the partners/management team ... 129 Learning from the MLRO experience ... 136 Can lessons be learned from the money laundering reporting officer role? ... 136 Who carries the can when things go wrong? ... 138 An FSA compliance officer's tale ... 139 Insurance and indemnity ... 140 What sanctions can the SRA exercise against COLPs and COFAs? ... 140
