Governance Services

Ensuring your firm has an effective corporate governance structure in place is vital to support the long-term success of both the firm and its key stakeholders. Governance can best be described as the full suite of oversight arrangements, including day-to-day operational management arrangements, the executive committees, the board sub-committees, ultimately supporting the main board or ultimate decision-making body of the firm.

For firms that are part of a broader group, governance may operate through matrix arrangements, with elements of centralized group governance arrangements working alongside legal entity-specific arrangements. These arrangements need to be clearly articulated to avoid tension, ambiguity and gaps.

Clarity of individual accountability is an important element of any successful governance framework, with individuals at all levels understanding what is required of them and what they are responsible for. We work with our clients to enhance clarity, remove ambiguity and identify efficiencies in processes, being mindful of regulatory requirements and expectations.

Our team’s broad capabilities and expertise across a range of technical areas encompass virtually all governance obligations of regulated firms, including:

• Governance framework, controls and individual accountability 
• Board effectiveness
• Conduct and culture
• Financial crime governance
• Markets issues—market abuse, surveillance, trade and transaction reporting
• Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR)
• Enterprise risk management frameworks
• Operational risk management and operational resilience
• Client money/assets governance

Implementing proper governance structures and processes helps sustain business in a company and is crucial for sustainability. We offer comprehensive services to support firm obligations

Our services include:

• Regulatory and operational due diligence
• Advisory services (on-call and retained)
• Reviews/assurance services
• SM&CR health checks
• Board effectiveness reviews
• Regulator visit/enforcement support
• Regulatory role secondments and expert witness services
• Training and development