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Case studies

Three firms, three ways to run compliance

An investment firm with 30 advisers, an insurance broker with 20 appointed representatives and a two-director credit broker. Different permissions, different pressures, and the same straightforward way of keeping on top of it.

01 · InvestmentsPro A directly authorised investment firm with 30 advisers Read the case study → 02 · InsuranceNetwork An insurance broker supervising 20 appointed representatives Read the case study → 03 · Consumer creditGrowth A directly authorised credit broker run by its two directors Read the case study →

Case study 01 · Investments

A wealth management firm with 30 advisers and a compliance team of two

The firm advises retail clients on investments and pensions and runs a discretionary service alongside. The adviser force had doubled in five years. The compliance function had not.

Firm type
Directly authorised investment firm
Regulated activity
Advice, arranging and discretionary management
People
30 advisers, a Head of Compliance and a compliance analyst
Plan
Fenchurch One Pro

Where they started

  • Registers lived in spreadsheets only the Head of Compliance fully understood. When they were on leave, reviews slipped.
  • Fitness and propriety records for 30 advisers were spread across HR files and email, so the annual certification round took weeks of chasing.
  • Return deadlines were tracked in a personal calendar, one missed reminder away from a late submission.
  • The directors received a long written update each quarter and found it hard to challenge.
A Fit and Proper assessment in Fenchurch One
Fit and Proper, per person

How they run it on Fenchurch One

Every adviser on one roster

People records for all 30 advisers, each with a Fit and Proper assessment and a certificate. Senior managers carry a Statement of Responsibilities. Only the compliance team and the directors hold logins.

Registers everyone can find

Complaints, breaches, conflicts, gifts and financial promotions, each record with a repeat schedule, an approver and its attachments, and nothing overwritten.

A monitoring plan from the template library

The team built its plan from the Compliance Monitoring Plan templates and set each review on a repeat, so the year's work is scheduled before it starts.

Return deadlines tracked for them

FCA Returns holds every deadline the firm is subject to, from complaints returns to MIFIDPRU reporting, and flags each one as it comes due.

One list of what needs doing

The Control Centre shows everything overdue, due or waiting for approval, worst first. One click opens the record.

Reports the directors can challenge

Each quarter the AI Compliance Report is drafted from the firm's own records, and before the year end the team runs the FCA Dry Run to test its answers.

What changedThe same team of two, with a very different week.

  • Cover is built in. Every record has a history and every review a date, so the work keeps moving when a member of the team is away.
  • Certification is a review, not a hunt. Each adviser's evidence is already in their record.
  • No return deadline rests on memory. The platform flags each one before it falls due.
  • Ready when the regulator asks. A Proof Pack gathers the evidence into one document.

Case study 02 · Insurance

An insurance broker supervising 20 appointed representatives

The principal firm arranges general insurance and protection through its own office and a network of 20 appointed representatives, from single-adviser brokerages to offices of eight. Under SUP 12, it answers for everything its ARs do.

Firm type
Principal firm with appointed representatives
Regulated activity
General insurance and protection broking
People
A Compliance Director, two oversight officers and 20 ARs
Plan
Fenchurch One Network

Where they started

  • Oversight happened, but the evidence was scattered across visit notes, email threads and a network spreadsheet. Showing the FCA what had been done, and when, took days.
  • Each AR sent its registers and attestations in a different format, and the team rekeyed them into one view.
  • File sampling results and supervisory meeting notes sat in separate folders for each AR, with follow-ups tracked from memory.
  • Material changes at an AR, such as a new director or a change of address, sometimes reached the principal months late.

How they run it on Fenchurch One

The whole network, worst first

Every AR has a red, amber or green supervisory rating worked out from sixteen signals, showing which rule fired. The team can override it with a written reason.

Each AR keeps its own board

ARs sign in to their own board to keep their registers, attestations, policies and people up to date. The principal sees all of it, rolled up in one table.

Seven oversight registers per AR

Supervisory meetings, customer file sampling, second line reviews, intensified monitoring, annual review, material changes and FCA correspondence.

Money and readiness watched

AR Financial Monitoring and Readiness sit across the network, so a weakening AR shows up before it becomes a problem.

A complete record of every appointment

The Firm Record holds each AR's sign-off, its AR agreement and, when the time comes, its termination.

One report across the network

A twelve-section network report cited against SUP 12, ready for the directors' annual review, with a network Proof Pack behind it.

What changedOversight the principal can prove, not just describe.

  • The day starts with the right AR. The ratings put the ARs that need attention at the top.
  • No more rekeying. ARs keep their own records, and the principal reviews them in one place.
  • Every follow-up has an owner and a date. File sampling and meetings carry remediation through to closure.
  • The annual review writes from the records. Every visit, finding and decision is already there.

Case study 03 · Consumer credit

A directly authorised credit broker run by its two directors

The firm introduces customers to a panel of lenders for vehicle and home improvement finance. One director runs sales; the other holds compliance oversight alongside finance and operations.

Firm type
Directly authorised credit broker
Regulated activity
Credit broking for vehicle and home improvement finance
People
Two directors and four staff
Plan
Fenchurch One Growth

Where they started

  • Compliance happened in bursts, usually in the fortnight before a lender audit, and was forgotten again afterwards.
  • Website pages, social posts and dealer leaflets went live after a quick read by a director, with no record of the check.
  • Every lender's annual due diligence questionnaire asked for the same policies, complaints data and training records, each time from scratch.
  • Policies had been bought years earlier and never reviewed since.
The Fenchurch One Control Centre, listing actions that are overdue, due or awaiting approval
The Control Centre

How they run it on Fenchurch One

A short routine instead of a scramble

The compliance director opens the Control Centre each Monday, works through what is due and is done. The weekly email is the reminder.

Every promotion logged and approved

Each financial promotion goes into the register with its review and an approver tick, alongside complaints and breaches.

Policies from the template pack

The firm replaced its old documents with the policy templates, approved them with version history and set each on a review cycle.

People and training in one place

Both directors carry a Statement of Responsibilities and a Fit and Proper assessment. Staff are recorded against the Conduct Rules.

Lender audits answered with a link

When a lender asks for evidence, the firm sends a Proof Pack, or a read-only Live Link showing a summary of its position.

A report the directors actually read

The AI Compliance Report is drafted from the firm's own records, so the two directors review the year together in one sitting.

What changedCompliance that fits around running the business.

  • Lender audits are answered from records. Policies, complaints and people are already in one place.
  • No promotion goes live unchecked. Each has a documented review and an approver.
  • Compliance is a routine, not an event. The platform says what is due, so the directors do not have to remember.
  • Policies stay current. Every review date is chased until it is done.

See your firm in one of these.

Start a free trial and set up your first board today, or book a demo and we will walk you through it the way a firm like yours would run it.

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