It is nearly a year since the PRA set out its requirements in respect of outsourcing and third-party risk management. More importantly, there is now little more than four weeks before the Supervisory Statement becomes effective. The enhancement of operational resilience within financial sector regulated businesses remains a key strategic priority for the PRA and the 31 March 2022 deadline is an important date in its mission to improve firms outsourcing, resilience and third-party selection oversight.
We are aware that many regulated firms are taking this opportunity to update their practices, their risk assessments of outsourcing arrangements and their own due diligence on third parties. This is re-assuring for us; firms are beginning to recognise that how they choose and on-board their external suppliers is no longer solely an internal stakeholder issue. As we have pointed out before, Senior Management Function holders are fully aware that the PRA is judging them personally and that responsibility to ensure firms behave appropriately is no longer just a corporate obligation.
Against that background of greater scrutiny and accountability, we are delighted to announce that our FSQS Registered Mark has been re-verified for 2022. FSQS is valued by the largest purchasers of services in the financial sector and confirms that Rockstead has gone through a robust process to demonstrate its competence and credentials to the industry. It is recognised as a significant endorsement of how we operate and confirms our strong corporate governance. Hence, our comment earlier about re-assurance – firms know that the selection of an appropriate supplier should include assessments of their operational resilience, risk management and conflicts of interest positions. If not, they could fail the PRA test.
We provide a wide range of specialist services, and if you’d like to discuss how we can help you with any oversight projects, give us a call.