We’ve written before about SMF18 as SMCR’s genuine catch-all — the designation that closes accountability gaps for senior managers with overall responsibility for a key activity who don’t fit any other named function. SMF3 sounds similar, and the two get confused constantly. Getting the distinction right matters before a search begins, not after, because it changes both the candidate profile and where the search itself should be run.
The Distinction That Actually Matters
SMF3, the Executive Director function, applies specifically to executive directors of Enhanced tier firms whose specific responsibilities don’t map to another named SMF. The defining feature is the board seat — SMF3 is for executives who sit on the firm’s board in an executive capacity. SMF18, Other Overall Responsibility, applies more broadly to any senior manager with overall responsibility for a key activity, board seat or not. A divisional head running a significant business line without a main board seat is a natural SMF18 candidate, not SMF3, regardless of how senior the role otherwise is.
| Feature | SMF3 — Executive Director | SMF18 — Other Overall Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Board seat | Yes — executive director of the firm | Not necessarily |
| Typical candidate | A board-level executive with a title like Chief Commercial Officer | A divisional head or function leader without a board seat |
| Recruitment fit | Board-level executive search | Senior functional or divisional leadership search |
Why the Wrong Classification Costs Real Time
Firms sometimes default to whichever designation feels more familiar, or more senior-sounding, rather than working through the actual reporting structure. Two failure patterns show up repeatedly. A firm designates a genuinely divisional, non-board role as SMF3 because the title sounds board-level, then runs a full board-level executive search process — with the associated cost and timeline — for a role that never needed that level of process. Or, in the other direction, a firm under-designates a role as SMF18 when the individual actually does sit on the board in an executive capacity, missing the specific governance and succession planning considerations that come with a genuine board seat.
Getting this right at the brief stage, before a search firm is even engaged, saves real time later — both because the right kind of search process gets run from the start, and because the eventual Form A submission reflects an accurate, defensible classification rather than one that has to be revisited.
How the Recruitment Approach Differs in Practice
SMF3: a board-level executive search
Recruiting a genuine SMF3 executive director calls for the same rigour as any board appointment — assessing not just functional competence but board-level judgement, the candidate’s ability to operate at that level of governance, and increasingly, as we cover in our guide to chair and CEO dynamics, how the individual will actually work with the rest of the board.
SMF18: a specialist functional search
Recruiting for an SMF18-designated role looks more like a strong divisional or functional leadership search, with the SMF18 accountability layered on once the designation is confirmed. The candidate needs to understand, going in, that they’re accepting the full weight of SMCR’s personal accountability framework even though the corporate title attached to the role may not signal that clearly — a point worth communicating explicitly during the search rather than leaving to a compliance conversation after an offer has been accepted.
Where This Sits Across the Group
Because SMF3 candidates are, in substance, board-level executives, the search itself often sits naturally with a firm’s executive or board search practice rather than a pure compliance-recruitment process. Our sister practice FD Capital’s guide to the SMF3 designation covers the mapping question in more operational detail specific to finance and executive functions, and is a useful next read if you’re still working out which designation actually applies to a specific role.
Related Reading
Getting the designation right before the search begins.
Executive Director Function
FD Capital’s detailed guide to SMF3, including how it applies to finance-adjacent executive roles.
Other Overall Responsibility
Our own guide to SMCR’s genuine catch-all designation, and the SMF3/SMF18 distinction in full.
The Chair-CEO Chemistry Problem
Why board-level appointments need relationship assessment, not just individual candidate strength.
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, helping firms map the right designation before a search begins. View Adrian’s ICAEW profile.
Not Sure Whether a Role Is SMF3 or SMF18?
Call 0203 137 2496 or email recruitment@smfcapital.co.uk. Tell us the reporting line and board status — we’ll help map the right designation, and the right search partner, before you begin.