Financial Services

Our team

We have a dedicated team who deliver audit, accounting and tax services to FCA regulated businesses. The breadth of our client base and years’ of experience in this space means we have a deep and up to date understanding of the complexities and ever changing FCA regulatory requirements and reporting standards.

Why use Gravita?

We have decades of experience in supporting FCA businesses correctly fulfil their obligations to the regulator. We have a highly resourced team which specialises in supporting regulated businesses, with sector expertise filtering from partner level right through to our most junior team members. The whole of our financial services team understands the complexities and everchanging FCA regulatory requirements, reporting standards and rules. And, as a full-service firm, we can support your financial services business with the following:

• CASS audits
• Assurance reports
• Audited accounts to the FCA
• Outsourcing
• Reporting to the FCA
• Forecasting to ensure CAR requirements are met
• VAT and quarterly reporting – plus annual adjustments under partial exemption
• R&D, particularly for fintech businesses who have built their own platforms
• Specialist tax advice

FCA Regulated

Being FCA regulated comes with its nuances…

• For a start, many regulated firms will have to report to the FCA within 80 business days/four months after year end, and you therefore require an advisor who has the resources to deal with a far quicker turnaround to report, after your year end.  
• MIFIDPRU firms: Even if your business doesn’t hold client money it may still have investment permissions and you will still need to report to the FCA. We work with many such entities who are excluded from the small company’s regime and are required to provide full audited accounts to the FCA. We can look after all the complexities, from correctly submitting the data to the FCA’s RegData portal, to looking after all the requirements of limited assurance reports.  
• If you hold client money or assets, you will be required to have a CASS audit. Depending on whether you are a regulated entity that holds client money, custody assets or you are an insurance broker, you will require a CASS audit under either/or  CASS 5, CASS 6 or CASS 7. 
• FCA regulated firms typically require additional services from their accountant, which may include requiring a statutory audit (even though they would otherwise normally fall into small companies’ exemption without the FCA permissions ), through to requiring specialist VAT advice, transfer pricing or R&D support.
• Highly complex data:  If you operate in the regulated space, your data may be incredibly complex, hence why the reporting standards of the FCA are quite so rigorous, and specialist expertise is therefore required by your advisors.
• FCA regulated firms are typically in the public eye, with many additional stakeholders, and arguably under far greater risk of reputational damage than most other sectors. With the FCA increasingly reviewing the financial information being reported to them and the CASS rules a company operates in, it is important your advisors are highly knowledgeable about the reporting requirements.

Who do we work with?

Our clients range from supporting start-ups who require an audit or are reporting to the FCA for the first time because they are regulated, right through to large internationally regulated groups, looking after all their accounting, audit, outsourcing, tax and VAT requirements. 

At Gravita we work with many sub sectors within financial services, with particular expertise in:

• Investment managers
• Investment advisors
• Fund advisors
• Fund managers
• Fund administrators
• Litigation funding
• IFAs
• Payment services
• Digital Assets
• Crowdfunders
• Hedge funds
• Private equity
• Invoice financing
• Foreign/fx exchange
• E-money issuers
• Money lenders
• Corporate lending
• Insurance brokers
• Stockbrokers

Our service extends overseas

• Our services to the Financial Services sector extend offshore, and the team work closely with advisors in both Jersey and Guernsey to support our mutual clients on all UK accounting, audit and tax matters. Such clients include GFSC regulated insurers, insurance brokers, investment managers, funds and fund managers.  
• And through our membership of DFK International, we have colleagues overseas who also specialise in financial services and who work with us to service our regulated clients who operate in multiple jurisdictions, enjoying the joined up service that DFK offers. 

How can we help?

For more information, please speak to Dan Rose, Partner and specialist in regulated business.