The survey identified the following:
80% of respondents were 'aware' or 'very aware' of the FSA's TCF initiative.
Over half had built TCF into their operations either 'wholly' or 'partially'.
Chief Executives were most likely to be responsible for implementing TCF in the firm (54%), with compliance (23%) and senior management (18%) the next most likely to be responsible for its implementation.
On cost, 30% of firms felt insufficiently clear about the long-term scope of TCF to provide a figure, whilst 39% said that TCF would not add any additional costs to their businesses, and 31% said that it would.
When asked whether the FSA had done enough to communicate TCF to firms, 63% said it had not.
Commenting, Chris Cummings, AIFA's Director General, said,
"The FSA expects TCF to be adopted and supported by the leadership of firms. Our survey demonstrates that this is the case for just over half of firms who responded to our survey, with chief executives taking personal responsibility for implementation.
"It is less than surprising that firms could not estimate the costs of TCF. The market is still uncertain about the real impact of the FSA's move to principles based regulation so caution is only natural.
"The FSA needs to ensure that TCF does not result in regulation via the 'backdoor'. Firms need to be clear about what is expected of them, otherwise the introduction of this initiative could create regulatory and financial problems."
