FCA and PRA skilled person (section 166) reviews

Under section 166 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have powers to require regulated firms to commission skilled person reviews into particular issues or business areas. These powers also extend to entities that HM Treasury designates as Critical Third Parties to the UK financial services sector. The frequency of these reviews continues to increase, and they carry significant regulatory, enforcement and litigation risk for firms.

Our team includes experience of skilled person review governance within the FCA, including at the most senior level of decision-making. 

We bring a deep understanding of the regulators’ perspectives, and how best to navigate the skilled person process in line with regulatory requirements and expectations.

We have extensive experience advising firms in relation to governance, individual accountability, culture, risk management and controls, and are a member of the FCA and the PRA's skilled person panels in the following areas:

• Lot B: Governance, accountability, strategy, and culture.
• Lot C: Controls and risk management frameworks.

Appointing a skilled person

If the FCA or the PRA has asked you to appoint a firm to undertake a skilled person review, we can act as the skilled person if you have been asked to select one from Lot B and/or Lot C.

To contact us about acting as a skilled person please contact Marc Teasdale or Olivia Kendall-Martin.

Supporting firms through skilled person reviews

We also have extensive experience of supporting clients through the skilled person lifecycle, providing comprehensive shadowing strategies to mitigate associated supervision and enforcement risk, including:

1. Negotiating and agreeing the scope of the skilled person review.
2. Scoping and formulating an overall regulatory strategy for the review.
3. Advising on applicable legal and regulatory standards against which a skilled person should assess a firm.
4. Shaping and advising on the positioning of responses to information requests from the skilled person.
5. Assisting with preparation for interviews and walkthroughs, including review of materials.
6. Proactive risk management and mitigation throughout the process.
7. Reviewing and advising on the draft skilled person report, including supporting exercises to verify findings and recommendations.
8. Drafting a robust management response to the skilled person’s findings, including the development of sustainable remediation actions.

We use our experience and knowledge from time spent at the regulators and advising clients on numerous, diverse skilled person reviews to deliver practical and sustainable solutions and advice designed specifically for your business.

Third-party reviews

Outside of the formal skilled person review process, clients regularly instruct us to carry out similarly robust third-party reviews of specific issues or businesses in response to regulatory scrutiny or following the self-identification of potential concerns. We bring our extensive experience and knowledge to these exercises, including that gained from acting as a skilled person, to deliver skilled person-standard reviews for clients that will withstand scrutiny from the regulators.