This follows Mortgage Introducer revealing earlier this month that confusion had arisen over whether mortgage brokers need a full accountancy audit if they do not hold client money.
One frustrated broker contacted MI saying, although the FSA has said the full audit is not required, this is being over-ruled by the rules governing accountants.
Faye Goddard, director of AIFA, said it was in talks with the FSA about removing the requirement on small intermediary firms to have their accounts audited to bring it in line with the exemption for other small firms.
She added that by removing the requirement, it would also relieve some of the burden on brokers in terms of completing their RMAR reports.
However, Goddard warned that it was ultimately up to the Treasury to install this audit exemption. “In the Companies Act there is a section that stipulates small firms aren’t exempted for these audits if they hold permissions with the FSA.
“But even if the FSA doesn’t want them, it is up to the Treasury whether this rule should change. All the FSA can do is talk on behalf of small intermediary firms.”
Robin Gordon-Walker, spokesperson at the FSA, commented: “We are in close contact with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) about how scrapping this audit for small firms may operate. We want to explore this issue and will be setting up an internal project to match up the costs and benefits.”
