The Senior Managers and Certification Regime in UK practice and global context

Public anger following the 2007/9 financial crisis was exacerbated by the failure to hold people accountable. A Parliamentary Commission recommended new legislation which resulted in the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR). A few other jurisdictions (e.g. Ireland and Australia) adopted similar requirements. In this article we document interviews with individuals who are or have been directly involved in implementing the regime or are currently personally impacted by it. These interviews were conducted to assess the regimes effectiveness 8 years after its introduction and consider how the regime compares to those adopted elsewhere. Our research indicates a perception that when the SMCR was initially implemented in 2016, regulated firms went into over-drive to make the new regime effective, but that regulatory focus has since moved on. Our participants all appear to agree that the quality of documentation and level of accountability has improved, but the impact on culture and professionalism was more conflicted. On top of this there are specific concerns about regulatory process delays, the provision of references and recruitment and retention. Conversely, the question of lack of enforcement, over which concerns have previously been raised, appears to matter little except in relation to its role as a signalling device.