Many firms not ready for regulatory changes

More than 25% of Canadian financial services providers are either “not very” or “not at all” prepared for upcoming regulatory changes, according to a recent survey by Randstad Canada in conjunction with Ipsos Reid.

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The study polled 300 professionals in Canada’s financial services sector working in operations, management, risk management, governance, and regulatory affairs. The findings highlight that while the majority of those polled felt that their organizations are reasonably prepared to implement these reforms, there remains a significant number of professionals working in the financial services industry who feel their organizations are not yet well prepared for upcoming changes to regulation.

Furthermore, one-in-four (23%) were unsure of the ability of their leadership teams at driving or effectively communicating strategies and programs to ensure compliance with tighter regulatory parameters throughout the organization.

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Throughout the financial services sector, opinions vary on how these new measures will impact business results. Of the respondents polled, 30% of those familiar with the upcoming changes felt that new measures being put in place will have a positive impact on the business results of their organization, while one-in-five (21%) felt they will have no impact. A further 22% responded that they were unsure of how these new measures will impact their business results.

More than one-quarter (27%) felt that new regulations planned to be put in place will actually have a negative impact on their business results, showing concerns that, upon implementation, new measures will impede their ability to operate in the same capacity and achieve the same success as at present.

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Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.