Free Guides and Templates for the Senior Managers Regime
SMF Capital publishes a growing library of free resources for firms and Senior Managers working under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime: downloadable Word templates for the documents the regime requires, practical checklists and plans for common situations, and in-depth guides to the rules. Everything on this page is free to use, with no sign-up. Every SMF search we run is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA.
Free Word Templates
Five downloadable templates for the core documents firms need under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Each comes with a guide page explaining how to complete it, common mistakes and frequently asked questions.
Statement of Responsibilities Template
Draft a Senior Manager’s Statement of Responsibilities, with guidance for each section and example wording for SMF16, SMF17 and SMF1.
Use it for: approval applications, new appointments and annual reviews
Responsibilities Map Template
Build and maintain an Enhanced firm’s Responsibilities Map: governance, Senior Managers, Prescribed Responsibilities and overall responsibility.
Use it for: Enhanced firms, and firms approaching the Enhanced threshold
Fit and Proper Assessment Template
Run the annual fitness and propriety assessment for Senior Managers and certified staff, with an evidence log.
Use it for: annual assessments and certification
Regulatory Reference Checklist
Manage requesting, chasing and giving regulatory references, with trackers and an assessment record.
Use it for: new hires and references you’re asked to give
Board Skills Matrix Template
Rate board skills across 14 areas, check committee coverage and plan succession.
Use it for: board reviews and board appointments
The templates are general guidance, not legal or regulatory advice. Where the regulators prescribe a form, such as the Statement of Responsibilities form or the regulatory reference template, use the template here to prepare and manage the content, and the regulators’ form for submission.
Essential Guides
Our most-used reference guides, covering the rules every firm and Senior Manager needs to understand.
SMF Designations: A Complete Guide
Every Senior Manager Function from SMF1 to SMF29, with links to each detailed guide.
SMF and Compliance Salary Guide
Salary and day-rate benchmarks for Senior Managers and compliance roles, kept up to date.
Conduct Rules Training Guide
All ten Conduct Rules, who they apply to and answers to common training questions.
The Fitness and Proper Test in Full
Every criterion behind the regulators’ assessment of Senior Managers.
Which SMFs Apply at Which Firm Tier?
The functions and responsibilities for Limited Scope, Core and Enhanced firms.
Practical Plans and Checklists
Step-by-step plans and checklists for the situations firms face most often, each built into a guide you can read online and print.
SMF Succession Planning Template
A function-by-function succession and cover template for boards.
Pre-Offer Checks for SMF Candidates
The ten checks to run before shortlisting a Senior Manager candidate.
The First 90 Days for a New MLRO or Compliance Officer
A 90-day plan and a log for recording what you inherit.
Staffing a Section 166 Remediation
A phase-by-phase staffing table and indicative interim rates.
Which Resource Do I Need?
| Situation | Start with |
|---|---|
| Appointing a new Senior Manager | Statement of Responsibilities template and pre-offer checks |
| Preparing an approval application | Form A mistakes and the fit and proper test |
| Requesting or giving references | Regulatory reference checklist |
| Annual fitness and propriety reviews | Fit and proper assessment template |
| Becoming an Enhanced firm | Responsibilities Map template and becoming Enhanced |
| Reviewing board composition | Board skills matrix template |
| A Senior Manager has resigned | 30-day plan and the 12-week rule |
| Planning for future departures | SMF succession planning template |
| Running Conduct Rules training | Conduct Rules training guide |
| Setting a salary or day-rate budget | SMF and compliance salary guide |
| Deciding who should be MLRO or compliance officer | Who can be your MLRO? |
How Firms Use These Resources
Compliance Teams
Compliance teams use the templates to standardise Statements of Responsibilities, fitness and propriety assessments and reference handling across the firm. Using the same structure for every Senior Manager and certified employee makes outcomes easier to compare and easier to evidence to the regulator.
Company Secretaries and Boards
Company secretaries use the Responsibilities Map and board skills matrix templates to keep governance documents current, and the succession template to plan board and Senior Manager cover. Boards use the skills matrix before every board appointment.
HR Teams
HR teams use the reference checklist, pre-offer checks and offer-structuring guide to keep Senior Manager hires on track and avoid delays at the approval stage.
Senior Managers and Candidates
Senior Managers use the guides to understand their own obligations, and candidates use them to prepare for interviews and regulator assessments. If you’re preparing for your first Senior Manager role, start with hiring your first Senior Manager and the first 90 days.
Using the Templates Well
- Adapt them. Every firm is different. Add, remove and reword sections to fit your structure, permissions and policies.
- Record evidence, not just conclusions. The templates leave space for the evidence behind each decision. Use it.
- Keep them current. Review each document when responsibilities change and at least annually.
- Keep them consistent. Statements of Responsibilities should match the Responsibilities Map, and fitness and propriety assessments should reflect any Conduct Rules matters.
- Check the rules. Regulatory requirements change. Check the current FCA and PRA rules for your firm.
Why We Publish These Resources
Most Senior Manager appointments that go wrong do so for avoidable reasons: a vague Statement of Responsibilities, a reference requested too late, a gap in the board nobody noticed. We see the same problems across many searches, so we’ve turned what works into resources any firm can use, whether or not it ever recruits through us.
More From SMF Capital
For the full reference library, visit the Knowledge Centre. For analysis of regulatory developments and how SMF appointments work in practice, see Insights. You can also listen to SMF Unlocked, our podcast on the regime, through the media centre, and join our free online briefings through the events page.
From Resources to Recruitment
When a template points to a gap, these are the services and roles we recruit for. Every SMF search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA
Services
How we run SMF searches.
→ SMF recruitment services
→ Fractional and interim cover
Control Functions
The roles we fill most often.
→ Compliance officer (SMF16)
→ MLRO (SMF17)
Board
Chairs, committee chairs and NEDs.
→ Chair and committee chairs
→ NEDs at FCA-regulated firms
Candidates
For Senior Managers.
→ Current SMF and compliance jobs
→ Register confidentially
Every SMF search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the templates free?
Yes. Download them with no sign-up and adapt them for use within your firm.
Can I share them with colleagues?
Yes, within your firm. If you’d like to share them more widely, please link to this page.
Are these the official regulatory forms?
No. Where the regulators prescribe a form, use their form for submission. These templates help you prepare and manage the content.
Will you add more templates?
Yes. If there’s a template you’d find useful, let us know.
About the Author
Adrian Lawrence FCA is the founder of SMF Capital. He is a Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the ICAEW, holds a practising certificate in his own name, and is a former listed-company Finance Director with a BSc from Queen Mary College, University of London. He founded FD Capital in 2018 and has since built a network of five specialist recruitment practices. He leads every SMF Capital search personally and oversees the free guides and templates published by the practice. View Adrian’s ICAEW profile.
Found a Gap You Need to Fill?
If a template has shown you need a new Senior Manager, chair or committee chair, tell us about your hire. We’ll come back to you the same working day.