Key dates to remember to stay in good standing with the FSB

Richard Rattue, Managing Director of Compli-Serve SA.

While most Financial Service Providers (FSPs) will have diarised their key dates to submit required admin and levies to the Financial Services Board, a friendly reminder may still be useful.

“Deadlines to submit regulatory filings are set down by the Regulator and it is important to have them in your diary and stay in good standing,” says Richard Rattue, Managing Director of Compli-Serve SA.

For Category I FSPs who have an external compliance officer, an annual compliance return must be submitted by 15 August 2015 for the reporting period to end May.

Where Category I FSPs do not have an external compliance officer, the reporting period follows the calendar year. “You will have eight weeks until the end of February to submit your reports to the FSB,” Rattue says.

Category II FSPs are required to submit two reports a year; one for the period January to June and a second for the period July to December. For the first half of the year, the report is due at the end of August 2015 and the second half of the year report is expected by the end of February 2016. “Both cases allow for eight weeks to sort out your reporting.”

If you are a foreign FSP, your reporting period commences on 1 September and ends at the end of August. “Again, eight weeks are given to submit the report which is due at the end of October 2015,” Rattue adds.

“The other key date to remember relates to submitting your financial statements which have to be in four months after your financial year end.”

Levies due to the FSB are calculated for Category I FSPs on the number of representatives and key individuals as at the end of August 2015.

Remember to review and update your Key Individual and Representative register including whether you have discontinued your business, merged with another company or wish to lapse your license. The deadline for this information must be provided to the Registrar by no later than 31 August 2015.

To enable the FSB’s financial department to calculate the 2015/2016 levy payable by Category II (Discretionary) FSPs and Category II A (Hedge funds Managers), a return needs to be submitted indicating the total market value of investments under management and/or administration as at 30 June 2015. Investments under management and/or administration held in foreign currency must be calculated in your Assets under Management (AUM) at the prevailing exchange rate as published in the press on 30 June 2015.

The amount should also match up to the AUM data required for your bi-annual compliance reports which will be completed from 1 July 2015.

“Please send all the signed declarations to your compliance officer by no later than 28 July 2015 for onward submission to the FSB. The cut-off date for submission to the FSB is 31 July 2015.

Our firm typically receives a surge in enquires around filing time as many authorised providers find themselves in hot water with the FSB from missing their respective deadlines” Rattue concludes.