Message from the faculty head, Philippa Kelly
As she takes on her new position as Faculty Head, Philippa Kelly outlines the challenges and opportunities for the year to come.
First and foremost I want to thank you for being a member of the Faculty – your support has been invaluable.
This year, was a year of change for the Faculty. I was delighted to move into the position of Faculty Head and begin working closely with Chairwoman, Pam Kaur of HSBC on shaping the future of the faculty. We know 2019 will be another challenging year for chartered accountants working in financial services and we want to ensure that next year, we continue to deliver everything you need to stay ahead. As a result, we’ve been very busy reviewing our current offering and have some rather exciting changes planned for 2019 – we will share these in more detail with you very soon!
Hot topics for 2019 will include:
- Dealing with Brexit related regulatory changes and challenges for banks, insurers and investment managers
- Getting to grips with IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts implementation
- Understanding the impact of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments on bank results
- Ensuring members in practice firms and firms holding client money are equipped to meet the requirements of the CASS rules and assurance standard.
- Promoting good corporate governance, with particular emphasis on the role of audit and risk committees across financial services.
Your current benefits
Membership includes 11 issues of FS Focus magazine per year, discounted rates at faculty events and free webinars (2018 webinar topics included IFRS 9, the role of NEDs in financial services, and the FCA’s client money rules and the related assurance standard which are all accessible on demand for members). Alongside these resources the faculty publishes helpsheets and guidance on key matters such as LIBOR transition and recently updated our guidance on conducting s166 work for the financial services regulators.
You also have the opportunity to contribute to the Faculty’s thought leadership projects. These encompass issues at the heart of change in the industry such as the effect of big data on traditional financial services business models and a critical look at the role of the board and its supporting committees in banking, insurance and investment management. We will regularly share insights from our discussions with the Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, in order to help members understand regulatory expectation and priorities.
Thank you and we look forward to your continued membership.
Philippa