FCA authorisation and annual return
FCA authorisation maintained, with the annual Retail Mediation Activities Return submitted through RegData within 30 business days of the firm's accounting reference date.
For mortgage brokers
Authorisation, CPD and client files for a mortgage advice firm
Advising is the visible part; underneath sit an authorisation, an annual declaration, a CPD year and a file that has to stand up to a review years later.
No account needed to see the proposed desk.
The recurring work
What mortgage brokers have to keep on top of
Every one of these has a date attached, a document behind it, and somebody who notices when it slips. This is what goes on the desk.
Approved person and competent employee records
Approved person status and competent employee records kept current for everyone who gives advice, including supervision plans for new starters.
Annual CPD requirement
The 35 hours of continuing professional development required each year, at least 21 of them structured, with the rest recorded as unstructured learning.
Professional indemnity renewal
Professional indemnity renewal held at the level the regulator requires and checked before the policy date each year.
Client file and suitability reviews
Client files and suitability reports checked against the advice record standard, because a file has to be readable by a reviewer years after the recommendation was made.
Lender panel and criteria updates
Lender criteria changes, product withdrawals and panel additions worked through as they land, since criteria can change without notice.
Anti-money-laundering supervision
Anti-money-laundering supervision, customer due diligence records and the firm-wide risk assessment kept up to date for every client the firm acts for.
Data protection registration
The annual ICO data protection fee paid and the firm's entry on the register confirmed, since client files hold personal and financial data.
FCA register entry
The public register entry checked after any change of address, trading name or adviser, so the record matches how the business actually trades.
Training and competence scheme
The training and competence scheme reviewed each year, with supervision outcomes and any competence gaps recorded as the regulator expects.
What it costs to carry it
The advice is the short part; the file behind it takes longer, and it is written after the client has gone home. It goes wrong in the details: a case that was all telephone calls with no file note, a completed case that never reached the CPD log, a return filed a week after the accounting reference date. A lapsed authorisation stops the firm writing business at all, and a file that cannot be reconstructed is the finding that costs the most.
What the desk takes over
The desk works this list to its own schedule and reports what it did.
CPD year tracking
Tracking the CPD year for each adviser and preparing the log before the annual declaration is made.
Case file collection
Collecting what each client file needs, including identification, income evidence and the suitability report, and flagging the gaps while the case is live.
Regulatory dates
Holding the return window, the ICO fee and the professional indemnity renewal date for the practice.
Lender criteria watch
Recording criteria changes and product withdrawals against the cases already on the desk.
What stays with the mortgage broker
The adviser still decides what is suitable for the client and signs the recommendation, because that judgement cannot be handed to anyone else. The desk keeps the file that shows the work was done.
Questions
How many CPD hours does a mortgage adviser need each year?
Thirty-five hours a year, of which at least twenty-one must be structured. The desk keeps the record that supports the annual declaration.
When is the annual return due?
Within 30 business days of the firm's accounting reference date. The desk holds the window and chases whoever supplies the figures for sign-off.
Can the desk keep advice files review-ready?
It collects the identification, income evidence and suitability report each case needs and flags what is still missing while the case is running. The adviser writes the recommendation.
Put the mortgage broker's recurring work on the desk
Start with a name, a website and one sentence about what the business does. The desk proposes the list; the mortgage broker corrects it.