Policies, Procedures and Programs
Written compliance procedures generally cover the applicable rules and policies and describe prohibited practices for staff awareness (such as a Compliance Manual and other Policy and Procedure documents).
Australia primarily operates under a self regulatory regime. Licensees are expected to know and understand their obligations under the Corporations Act and implement a suitable compliance regime, based on legislative requirements and the Australian Standard 3806.
In other words, companies are expected to prepare and implement a suitable governance structure i.e. comprehensive Policy and Procedure documents that are tailored to suit to the needs of the business and advising staff of their obligations to ensure ongoing compliance. Accordingly, the requirement includes staff training in matters of compliance and/or the companies’ compliance arrangements i.e. what is expected of them.
These procedural documents should explain the practical requirements and how staff must carry out their duties efficiently and fairly within the scope of the Law. Accordingly, the compliance arrangements should take into consideration the nature, scale and complexity of the business and your client base.
Lazorne Group Pty Ltd ATF Compliance Consulting Unit Trust (“Compliance Consulting”) can assist you in preparing (and/or amending) your compliance arrangements and keeping them up to date as legislation changes. Examples of the compliance arrangements (Policy and Procedure documents) we can assist you with include the following:
- Compliance Manual;
- Compliance Plan for regulated schemes (as defined in the Corporations Act);
- Operations Manual;
- Code of Conduct;
- Development Program for Responsible Managers;
- Compliance Arrangements Procedure Document;
- Compliance Monitoring Program;
- Outsourcing Procedures and Statement;
- Arrangements for Managing Conflicts of Interest;
- Client Establishment Procedures;
- Training and Supervision Procedures of Representatives;
- Disciplinary Action Procedures;
- Financial Resources Capacity Statement:
- Human Resources Capacity Statement;
- Information Technology Statement;
- Disaster Recovery Plan;
- Dispute Resolution Procedures;
- Risk Management Procedures;
- Compensation Capacity Statement;
- Research Statement;
- Custodial Services Statement;
- Funds Under Management Statement;
- Product Distribution Channel Report;
- Derivatives Statement;
- Foreign Exchange Operating Statement;
- MDA Operator Capacity Statement;
- Privacy Policy;
- Breaches Policy;
- Staff Trading; and
- Disclosure Documents Procedure Guide.
We note that this list is NOT exhaustive.
ASIC’s Regulatory Guides require compliance measures, processes and procedures to be documented in some form and include monitoring and reporting on compliance. It also notes that monitoring and reporting may be built into business processes and procedures. The above documents will set out these processes and procedures. Hence, you will be able to demonstrate that you have detailed, documented compliance procedures that cover your business.