SMF Designations: A Complete Guide
Every Senior Manager Function we’ve written a dedicated guide to, in one place. Each covers what the FCA and PRA actually expect from the designation, what a strong candidate profile looks like, and where firms most often get the search wrong. Non-executive board designations sit first, followed by executive functions, followed by the fit and proper test that governs every one of them.
Non-Executive Board Designations
The SMF designations held by independent non-executive directors — chairs and committee chairs — recruited through our sister practice, NED Capital.
Chair of the Governing Body
What the PRA expects from board chair behavioural independence, and the chair-CEO relationship.
Risk & Audit Committee Chairs
How the two designations differ, and what “recent and relevant” financial experience actually means.
Remuneration Committee Chair
Material Risk Taker oversight, malus and clawback, and Consumer Duty alignment.
Senior Independent Director
Chair performance evaluation, institutional investor credibility, and chair succession.
Executive Functions
The SMF designations held by senior executives running the business day to day.
Chief Executive Function
Personal accountability, the SMF1/SMF3 distinction, and the fit and proper competence bar for a CEO.
Chief Finance Function
The regulated CFO/FD standard, covered in depth by our sister practice, FD Capital.
Read the guide →
On FD Capital
Executive Director Function
The catch-all for executive directors, and how it differs from SMF18, on FD Capital.
Read the guide →
On FD Capital
Chief Risk Officer Function
Executive risk ownership, independence from business lines, and the SMF4/SMF10 distinction.
Head of Internal Audit
Third-line independence, reporting lines, and the relationship with the audit committee.
Compliance Oversight & MLRO
Genuine authority versus box-ticking, and the MLRO’s personal criminal liability under POCA.
Other Overall Responsibility
SMCR’s genuine catch-all, and how to tell whether a role should be SMF3 or SMF18.
Chief Operations Function
Operational resilience obligations, third-party oversight, and technology change risk.
Partner Function
How SMCR accountability applies inside partnerships and LLPs, most common in wealth management.
Where to Start
If you’re new to the framework, or trying to work out which designation actually applies to a role you’re recruiting for.
Senior Manager Functions Explained
What SMCR is, why it exists, the fit and proper test, and a quick-reference table of every major designation.
Recruiting an SMF-Designated Role?
Every search — executive or non-executive — is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA, and built around the fit and proper assessment from day one.
NED Capital
Non-executive chair, committee chair and SID appointments.
FD Capital & Accountancy Capital
CFOs, Financial Controllers and regulatory reporting teams.
Adrian Lawrence FCA — Founder, SMF Capital
Adrian is a Fellow of the ICAEW and holds an ICAEW practising certificate in his own name. He founded FD Capital in 2018 and has since built out Exec Capital, NED Capital and Accountancy Capital alongside SMF Capital, giving FCA-regulated firms specialist recruitment coverage across every Senior Manager Function. View Adrian’s ICAEW profile.
Not Sure Which Designation Applies?
Call 0203 137 2496 or email recruitment@smfcapital.co.uk. Tell us the role and its reporting line — we’ll help map it to the right designation before the search begins.