This online training course on conflicts of interest highlights the FCA regulation around conflicts of interest and the impact on individuals and firms.
Employees are expected to act fairly and place the interests of their organisation ahead of personal interests in any business transaction.
A conflict of interest occurs where an employee in an official capacity, acts to gain a personal advantage for them or an individual known to them, such as family or a friend.
This course is broken down into a number of modules to make the information easily digestible.
This course is broken down into a number of modules to make the information easily digestible.
A conflict of interest occurs when a decision must be made between personal gain and the best interests of the customer or the company. This topic explores precisely what is meant when referring to a conflict of interest, how it applies to an individual and an organisation. It also examines various scenarios where it is likely to occur within the financial services industry.
Conflicts of interest are an industry risk that has the potential to undermine the principles of fairness and integrity. To combat this, the FCA has established a framework of how firms should conduct business. This topic looks at Principles for Businesses, the Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) and Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Rules (SYSC).
Great care is required when offering or accepting inducements to avoid any compliance breaches or accusations of misconduct. Inducements in the form of payments or non-monetary benefits can cause a conflict of interest. In this topic, learners will see good and bad examples of compliance with the inducement rules within a fictitious organisation.
Firms must have a clearly defined policy and procedures for determining what constitutes reasonable hospitality, and for authorising the provision or acceptance of gifts and hospitality. Since gifts and hospitality can be considered as bribes, great care is required. This topic looks at various scenarios involving gifts and hospitality and the best practice to follow in order to stay within the law
A conflict of interest could potentially arise if your work or professional judgement is affected (or, very importantly it is reasonably believed that there is even the possibility that it could be affected) by your personal relationships and financial affairs. This topic explores scenarios which involve personal situations and how to follow company policy to ensure compliance.
This course will immerse learners in scenarios that explore conflicts of interests, and ways to avoid or manage the risks. The scenarios involve employees within Investmentise, which is part of the fictional Investmenta Group of companies.
Learners are required to make decisions that increase or decrease the risk of compliance breaches. The challenge is to prevent Investmentise from breaching the FCA’s compliance framework. Learners need to score at least 80% to complete the course successfully.
| Number of Learners | Cost (per year) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - 10 | ||
| 11 - 20 | ||
| 21 - 50 | ||
| 51 - 100 | ||
| 101 - 150 | ||
| 150+ | ||
| Number of Learners | Cost (per year) | |
|---|---|---|
| 50 - 100 | ||
| 101 - 200 | ||
| 201 - 300 | ||
| 301 - 400 | ||
| 401 - 500 | ||
| 501 - 750 | ||
| 751 - 1000 | ||
| 1001 - 2500 | ||
| 2501 - 5000 | ||
| 5000 - 10,000 | ||
| 10,000 + | ||
Included Features
As per the policies set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a conflict of interest “occurs when an organisation or an employee with a vested interested becomes unreliable because of a clash between personal and professional affairs”.
Conflicts of interest can lead to businesses or individuals to act in a biased manner, affecting decision-marketing. The FCA requires an organisation to manage conflicts of interest fairly, both between itself and its customers and between a customer and another client.
Complying with FCA’s recommended framework helps individuals and firms to manage the risks of conflicts of interests. Failure to comply with the FCA framework can lead to enforcement action, which could range from withdrawing authorisation, prohibition and suspension of activities, to winding-up and insolvency order, fines and criminal convictions.
According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), a conflict of interests arises when an individual’s work could be affected by their personal financial matters or a close personal relationship. It could also arise if their work could be affected by a personal interest of your close family or any other close personal relationship with an individual. It becomes significant if any person, internally or externally, might reasonably believe there is a risk of the individual’s actions, or those of a personal associate, being inappropriately influenced.
As per the FCA Employee Handbook, the Conflict of interests Policy exists to protect employees, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) and the public. Businesses must have policies and procedures in place to avoid conflict of interests occurring in the first place. Members of the board of directors have to sign a conflict of interest policy statements, and if a conflict surfaces, there could be serious consequences.
An inducement is broadly a payment or a non-monetary benefit which if received by the individual or business, can create a conflict of interest with the business’ own regulatory obligations or those of its clients. As per the FCA regulations, inducements rules are designed to ensure that businesses only act in the interests of their clients and disclose any inducements in a comprehensive, accurate and understandable way.
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