Get a clear, evidence-based view of where your licence stands and identify the risks, gaps and weaknesses in your compliance infrastructure before regulators do.
“AFS Licensees must comply with the financial services laws or risk losing their licence. .. ASIC will not hesitate to take action when licensees or their representatives don’t comply with the law”
— ASIC Commissioner Danielle press, 19-051MR
“…every financial services entity, whether examined in a case study or not, must look at its own conduct and the way in which it governs itself”
— Final Report of The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry
“All financial services entities should, as often as reasonably possible, take proper steps to assess the entity’s culture and its governance, identify any problems … deal with those problems; and determine whether the changes it has made have been effective.”
— Recommendation 5.6 – Changing culture and governance
As an Australian Financial Services or Credit Licensee, you operate in a highly regulated and closely scrutinised environment.
You are expected to demonstrate that your business operates efficiently, honestly and fairly and that your compliance framework and governance arrangements are effective in practice.
Our Licensee Review provides an independent, risk-based assessment of your business so you can clearly understand where you meet expectations and where you are exposed.
Our review goes beyond documentation to assess how your framework operates in practice.
We assess:
The result is a clear, objective view of your licence position, supported by practical, prioritised recommendations.
“the licensee environment has a substantial bearing on the quality of advice delivered by an adviser.”
— Mark Hoven, Australian Financial Review, 31 July 2018
“Compliance with the Law is not a matter of choice”
— Commissioner Kenneth Hayne, “Royal Commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry”, Final Report page 494
The law requires you to operate efficiently, honestly and fairly and to maintain compliance frameworks, processes and controls that are appropriate for the nature, scale and complexity of your business.
In practice, that means effectively managing conflicts of interest, maintaining competence, prioritising client interests, and ensuring your representatives comply with the law and deliver appropriate advice in the client’s best interests.
This is where most frameworks break down in practice.
Our Licensee Review provides a structured, independent assessment of your compliance, risk management and governance arrangements against your legal and professional obligations.
By incorporating a risk-based review of the work produced by your representatives, we assess how your framework operates in practice and how it influences conduct, decision-making and the quality of outcomes delivered to clients.
The result is a clear understanding of how effective your controls are, where your risks sit and what needs to be addressed.
“Culture, governance and remuneration march together. Improvements in one area will reinforce improvements in others; inaction in one area will undermine progress in others.”
— Final Report of The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry
We benchmark your business against industry data, providing a clear assessment of how your compliance framework and outcomes compare.
While your overall rating reflects both your compliance arrangements and the quality of outcomes delivered, we report these measures separately so you can clearly identify where to focus and make informed, evidence-based decisions.
Every fortnight “Three Hit Tuesday” delivers thought leadership, considered analysis and insights that will help you improve your advice, more effectively manage your regulatory risks and make you better informed than your peers.
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