Taylor Wessing launches new SMCR tool

International law firm Taylor Wessing has today announced the launch of a free online tool to help financial services firms affected by the extended Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR).

The regime is set to be extended to all FCA solo-regulated firms on 9 December 2019. Any firms affected who are not compliant by that date could face enforcement action.

The tool enables firms to determine what category of firm they fall into for the purposes of SMCR - Limited Scope, Core or Enhanced - and the extent to which the regime applies to them.

Depending on the outcome of the initial analysis, the tool then identifies actions that need to be taken ahead of the 9 December 2019 deadline.

The tool is Taylor Wessing's latest development using TW:navigate, a cognitive reasoning platform used to help inform whether a piece of legislation or legal development affects an individual or their business.

TW:navigate is part of the firm's legal tech offering, 'TechSet', which combines legal experience with the latest technology to provide the most advanced methods of servicing clients.

Sean Nesbitt, Partner and corporate governance expert leading the new tool for clients, said: "Clients affected by the SMCR extension can't afford to wait until the final deadline before they assess what measures they need to put in place. Not complying with the new rules could have serious consequences for individuals and there's a lot that needs to be reviewed to ensure a smooth transition to new working practices, procedures and policies."

Jonathan Rogers, Partner and Head of Financial Institutions Group, said: "The financial crisis of 2008 was a wake-up call to the inadequacies of global financial regulation, particularly in the delivery of individual accountability. It's taken 10 years for the FCA to introduce the new regime and, in similar vein to the crisis itself, the consequences could take a long time to bounce back from, if a firm's reputation is able to withstand this at all."

In October, Taylor Wessing announced the pilot of exclusive technology developed to help e-commerce clients identify whether their website has been targeted by hackers. Created by Pervade Software, TW:detect scans client websites for indicators of compromise. Taylor Wessing is the only law firm in the market to have access to this.