The six bodies the FSA intends to grant accredited status are the CFA Society of the UK, the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, the Chartered Institute for Bankers in Scotland, the Chartered Insurance Institute, the Institute of Financial Planning and the Institute of Financial Services which is a division of the ifs School of Finance.
The proposition has come on the latest Retail Distribution Review consultation paper released today.
Accredited bodies would need to satisfy requirements in four broad areas. These include acting in the public interest and further the development of the profession, to carry out effective verification services, to have appropriate systems and controls in place and provide evidence to the FSA of continuing effectiveness; and to cooperate with the FSA on an ongoing basis.
The FSA said: “The criteria is based on what we expect all accredited bodies to demonstrate from December 31, 2012 so the proposed accredited bodies may not have all the appropriate capabilities or systems and controls in place now. As the accredited body role is new, it is very unlikely that any accredited body is 100 per cent ready now.
“We are satisfied that the applicants and their independent auditors have provided sufficient detail about how they expect to implement the appropriate systems and controls between now and December 31, 2012.”
Anne Kiem, chief executive of the IFS, added: “We are very pleased that the FSA is proposing to recognise the Institute as an accredited body and look forward to this being confirmed in due course.”
