ISO 22222

There is a great deal of comment and discussion about what level of qualifications the FSA will eventually decide is required to 'raise professional standards', one of the outcomes they have set out to achieve through the RDR work.

You may well feel that demonstrating your competence to clients is about more than just what you proved you knew 4 years ago when you took an exam. It’s about what you do and how you do it on a day-to-day basis demonstrated by outcomes. What your clients experience – how you treat clients – is dependent as much as anything on your own personal standards, ethics and behaviours.

ISO 22222 is not a qualification; rather it is a certification that shows you have met the required standards in ethical behaviours, competences and experience and was mentioned by Amanda Bowe of the FSA in September 2007 as being one of the possible options for an alternative or complementary standard to qualifications by examination.

ISO 22222 establishes best practice in financial planning across the world and, as a result, should help to increase consumer confidence as it enables them to identify financial planners with the right knowledge, skills, ethics and experience to deliver a globally recognised desired standard of service. Achieving the ISO standard demonstrates the ability to consistently provide a product or service that meets customer requirements. The standard addresses customer satisfaction through the effective application of best practice, developing processes for continual improvement.

The ISO standard involves an initial assessment and annual reconfirmation of standards. This means your knowledge will keep up with changing legislation and economic circumstances; unlike an exam, which you would study for and pass but possibly never revisit.  ISO 22222 therefore complements the FSA's TCF initiative and is well received by the FSA as an indication that the firm is placing its customers at the heart of their business.

Accredited by UKAS (the sole national accreditation body recognised by government to assess against internationally agreed standards), Standards International Ltd is the UK’s leading certification body specialising in the promotion, training and assessment of financial advisers seeking to achieve ISO 22222.

Angie Bryant of Corylus Compliance Services has completed the Approved Associates Consultant programme with Standards International Ltd and is on their independent panel of Compliance Consultants able to help firms undergoing the ISO certification process to implement ‘best practice’ following a gap analysis but before their formal assessment.

If you are working towards ISO 22222 and need help to implement changes prior to your assessment please contact us.

For more information on the ISO 22222 certification itself and the government funding options available towards the costs, please visit www.standardsinternational.co.uk or call them 01462 790894.

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