Experienced compliance leadership for firms not yet ready for a full-time Head of Compliance, enabling growth while maintaining effective governance.

The situation

Building a regulated business requires experienced regulatory leadership. For many growing firms, however, the timing is not yet right to recruit a full-time Head of Compliance, MLRO or senior regulatory executive. The business still needs strategic oversight, regulatory judgement and experienced engagement with the FCA, but without the cost and commitment of building a permanent function too early. Growth changes the regulatory demands placed on a business. New products are introduced. Customer numbers increase. Additional jurisdictions are entered. Investors expect stronger governance. Board reporting becomes more sophisticated. Regulatory obligations continue to expand. The compliance function often develops more slowly than the business itself. Founders and executives can find themselves making regulatory decisions without experienced support, while internal compliance teams spend increasing amounts of time responding to day-to-day operational matters rather than providing strategic oversight. The challenge is not simply adding more compliance resource. It is ensuring the business has access to experienced regulatory leadership capable of supporting management, challenging decisions where appropriate and maintaining confidence that regulatory obligations continue to be met.

What you are really buying

An experienced regulatory leader integrated into your business. We work alongside your executive team and board, providing ongoing advice, governance oversight and practical regulatory leadership across the firm's compliance framework. Depending on your requirements, we can support the business as Head of Compliance, MLRO, Consumer Duty Lead, regulatory adviser or trusted adviser to the board, providing continuity while your organisation continues to develop. Our role is not simply to oversee compliance activities. It is to help management make informed decisions that balance commercial growth with regulatory expectations.

What's included

The engagement can include:

• Head of Compliance services.

• MLRO support.

• SMF16 and SMF17 responsibilities, where appropriate.

• Regulatory advice to the executive team.

• Board and committee reporting.

• Compliance oversight.

• Consumer Duty governance.

• Financial crime oversight.

• Compliance monitoring.

• Regulatory horizon scanning.

• Regulatory change implementation.

• FCA engagement.

• Policy development and review.

• Staff training and regulatory awareness.

• Oversight of outsourced providers.

• Ongoing governance support.

How it works

1. 1

   Understand

   We begin by reviewing the firm's business model, governance arrangements, regulatory obligations and existing compliance capability. This allows us to identify where senior regulatory leadership is required, how responsibilities should be allocated and how our support will integrate with the existing management team.

   You keep: A clear scope of support aligned to the firm's regulatory needs.

2. 2

   Integrate

   Rather than operating as an external adviser responding to occasional questions, we become part of the firm's governance structure. We attend board and management meetings where appropriate, contribute to regulatory decision-making, oversee key compliance activities and provide practical advice as the business develops. The objective is to establish a relationship that gives management immediate access to experienced regulatory judgement whenever it is needed.

   You keep: Ongoing access to experienced regulatory leadership embedded within your business.

3. 3

   Support

   As the business grows, new regulatory challenges inevitably emerge. Whether launching products, entering new markets, responding to regulatory developments or preparing for supervisory engagement, we work alongside management to ensure governance and compliance continue to evolve appropriately. Support remains flexible, allowing the compliance function to develop alongside the organisation rather than becoming a constraint on growth.

   You keep: A regulatory function capable of adapting as the business evolves.

4. 4

   Transition

   Many firms eventually recruit permanent senior compliance leadership. Where that becomes appropriate, we support the transition by documenting governance arrangements, transferring knowledge and helping new appointees establish themselves effectively within the business. Our objective is to leave behind a mature compliance function that is fully integrated into the organisation.

   You keep: Continuity throughout the firm's growth journey.

The guarantee

Proof

Experience as a former FCA supervisor with extensive background supporting regulated firms through periods of growth, regulatory change and supervisory engagement, including acting as a trusted adviser to boards and executive teams, designing governance frameworks and strengthening compliance functions.