CON-20-115 Consultancy & Skilled Persons Framework

Creation of a consultancy and skilled persons framework with multiple lots. Lots A to L cover different specialities of s166 skilled persons review as part of the FCA and Bank of England (including the PRA) regulatory remit. Lot M covers general consultancy and is split into specialisms. Suppliers will not need to deliver all of the specialisms in the lot and will be considered for the specialism(s) that they have been selected.

Advice, skills and technical expertise in evaluating whether solo-regulated firms are accurately assessing adequate financial resources to ensure they meet threshold conditions and on-going regulatory requirements.

This will require skills, experience and expertise across different prudential regimes, the FCA Handbook, International Accounting Standards, International Financial Reporting Standards and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

This should include but not be limited to knowledge of relevant regulatory requirements, standards, guidelines and industry best practice and experience and expertise in assessing:

•Firm’s skills, systems and processes to calculate and hold appropriate level and type of capital and/or liquid resources to cover potential harm and to put things right when they go wrong.

•Firm’s capacity and effectiveness of assessing the likelihood and impact of potential harm to consumer and markets; thereby determining the amount of financial resources (capital and liquidity). The skills, experience and technical expertise should include but not be limited to:

•Non-trading book: operational risk, credit risk, counterparty credit risk, credit valuation adjustment, settlement risk and/or the modelling of these risks, as well as regulatory reporting

•Trading book: market risk, settlement risk, large exposures and/or the modelling of these risks, as well as regulatory reporting

•Any other risks that are inherent to the firm’s business model and that can lead to impair its ability to compensate for harm done

•Firm’s skills, systems and processes to evaluate the viability and sustainability of their own business model and strategy; whereby firms consider forward-looking financial projections and strategic plans, under both business-as-usual and adverse circumstances that are outside their normal and direct control. The assessment of tail risk analysis should include elements like the stress test, reverse stress test and wind-down planning, together with the adequacy of the scenarios, its modelling and the governance of these areas.