Chris Cummings, director of AMI, said questions are being asked by an EU working party that have raised doubts over whether small firms should be allowed to conduct their own compliance and be able to police themselves. The EU is looking at potentially pushing compliance out of the hands of such firms.
Cummings said: “This is very much an issue for the future and we’re not trying to worry small firms unduly but the implications are huge; there comes a time when you have to say that enough is enough.
“The potential directive offers more questions than answers; for example, who would undertake the compliance, what about the costs involved and how would the FSA govern such compliance? The issues are there for all to see.”
Bill Warren, director of The Complete Network, said: “This is taking ‘Big Brother’ to the extreme and has the potential to be very damaging to individual businesses and of massive detriment to the whole industry from both a commercial and customer view.
“AMI is already being proactive in this area and we need to further raise awareness regarding this subject and lobby our British representative in Brussels.”
Tony Jones, managing director of Pink Home Loans, warned it was important for small firms to get their acts together to prove they can handle compliance procedures and remain in control, rather than the FSA having to take it out of their hands.
And Karen Monaghan, managing director at compliance specialists The Kingsland Consultancy, commented: “There would be massive cost implications and it would create another layer between small firms and the FSA which I can’t see having any possible benefits.”
