The FCA and Practitioner Panel 2022/23 survey findings

We have published the findings of the FCA and Practitioner Panel 2022/23 survey[1]. 

We use the survey results to get a better understanding of the issues affecting firms and to assess whether any changes should be made to our approach, as part of becoming a more innovative, assertive, and adaptive regulator. 

We are pleased that the majority of responding firms have a positive view of the FCA’s performance over the last year. This is a significant achievement, given the volume of changes, industry and the FCA have continued to absorb over the last 12 months. 

However, we acknowledge that some firms have communicated areas where we could be doing more. Firms want us to: 

• make sure we act proportionately, so that the costs imposed on firms are proportionate to the benefits gained
• respond efficiently to innovation and new challenges
• improve trust and confidence in the FCA and its supervisors 
• make sure there are ongoing improvements in the authorisations process in the service standards quarterly reporting
• look at how the use of data requests is fed back to firms

We are already working to improve in many of these areas through our 3-year Strategy[2]. In response to some of the specific report findings we will be taking forward several actions and considerations over the coming months including:

• the establishment of a new panel to provide advice on cost/benefit analysis, which will help demonstrate we use our rule-making powers appropriately and proportionately
• improving our Authorisations processing times through a programme of transformation work which will make our internal processes more efficient
• introducing changes to the Information Governance Board process, inviting firms to provide feedback after each information request, including how long it took and how much it cost to complete and any suggestions on how to improve the request
• using the Innovation Advisory Group (IAG)[3] to provide a regular forum for the FinTech and RegTech sector and the FCA to discuss issues and opportunities to inform our innovation work and review our Regulatory Sandbox[4] services. We will also provide more opportunities for firms to get involved through our TechSprint[5] events, which will double over the next year.

We are reflecting on the results about firms’ trust and confidence in supervisors, so that we can build upon the internal changes we have already made to make sure the best outcomes for consumers and firms.

We will continue to listen to feedback from firms and make further changes and improvements over the coming months. 

Thank you to all firms that participated for providing us with your valuable feedback.