Services
Four ways we support management
Engagements begin with a foundational diagnostic and can continue as monthly support. Each service can be scoped on its own or combined around the firm’s activities and objectives.
Operational diagnostics
We examine six areas of the operation. In each one we set what the firm does against what its contracts say and what its system records show.
Questions it answers
- Does what the firm does in practice match what it is licensed to do?
- Where do controls or responsibilities need to change?
You receive the agreed scope and evidence index, and a map of the firm’s actual activities against its permissions. A record of the systems and documents examined states the limits of testing. Findings come with their evidence.
Review and remediation
A five-step method turns evidence into a prioritised action plan. The same method then verifies progress against agreed evidence.
Questions it answers
- Which gaps matter most, and who owns them?
- Have the agreed actions closed the gaps?
You receive a prioritised action plan with owners, target dates and the evidence expected for closure. The plan comes with a management discussion of the conclusions, the decisions needed and the basis for verifying remediation.
Business model design
A new channel, commercial relationship or operating structure has to work in practice and fit the firm’s permissions, so we assess the options before implementation and help management align commercial objectives with responsibilities and controls.
Questions it answers
- Will this arrangement work in practice and fit the firm’s permissions?
- What must be resolved before it goes ahead?
The four stages
Map the complete arrangement
Trace customer acquisition, communications, contracting, service delivery, data, money and commissions across all relevant parties. Identify who decides, who records, who oversees and who can stop an activity.
Develop options with conditions
Describe the alternatives and the conditions attached to each. An option may need revised controls or a different allocation of responsibilities. It may also need specialist legal advice, or confirmation of additional permissions.
Align the operating documents
Once management selects an option for validation, align process descriptions, responsibilities and oversight requirements with the agreements the firm has or proposes. Contract review here means checking that agreements match how the operation works. Legal drafting and legal opinions stay with the firm’s legal advisers.
Make the decision explicit
Identify assumptions, unresolved issues, dependencies and the decisions for management. Where evidence or permissions are insufficient, state what must be resolved before the activity proceeds.
Where redesign is included in the scope, you receive business model options. Each comes with its conditions and dependencies, and the decisions it needs.
Continuing support
After the foundational engagement, monthly support focuses on the priorities and changes set with the firm. It links the diagnostic work to operating decisions and to the progress of remediation.
Questions it answers
- How does the firm keep remediation on track?
- Can it demonstrate how its controls operate?
What monthly support covers
A defined monthly scope
Support can include advice on proposed operational changes, reviews of selected arrangements or materials, tracking of agreed actions and re-testing of completed remediation. Priorities and review frequency are set with the firm.
Working with the responsible teams
Working with the responsible teams, we review systems and evidence, clarify findings and agree next steps.
Inspection readiness where agreed
Optional, and under a separate engagement with an agreed scope and schedule. An on-site inspection rehearsal tests whether the firm can retrieve evidence, explain its processes and demonstrate how its controls operate. It also points to where more preparation is needed.
Re-testing against closure evidence
Completed remediation is re-tested against the evidence agreed for closure, so management can see which gaps have been addressed and which still need attention.
You receive the deliverables agreed with the firm for each month, and the result of each re-test.
Independence and limits
Read how the work is done.
The six areas we examine and the five steps of the method are set out in full.