The AFME conference, September 2017, held in London drew together some of the largest European financial institutions to discuss the latest regulatory changes as well as get expert insight from a host of speakers and panel members, but the topic that kicked off the day’s talks and continued to draw questions throughout was Brexit.
Most of the organisations in attendance have a vested interests in the outcome of the exit bill, in negotiations at time of writing, having centred themselves in London’s financial district, the discussion between the expert panel members were eagerly heard. The emphasis on the talks centred around the ever diminishing time until the deadline of March 2019 and the impact this is having on decision making and the stress this is causing.
One of the panellists in the morning session, Chris Bates, Head of Financial Regulatory Practices for Clifford Chance, was keen to press home just how short amount of time this is, especially if you’re waiting until an exit bill is agreed upon before making any business critical decisions.
“The uncertainty around Brexit can paralyse your organisation, you have to press forward with your plans as the timeline is simply too short to wait and see.”
This theme struck a chord with the rest of the panel and audience alike who were keen to discuss how much extra workload the increase in governance regulations is putting onto company secretaries and fund managers alike. The amount of paperwork and admin that will be needed for dealing with clients the other side of the Brexit deadline in the wake of the, as-yet, unknown new regulations that will come into play was also a point of contention amongst many of the delegates.
Dealing with the increase in regulations and ensuring compliance with these in a transparent manner was how many of the conversations held at the eShare stand were initiated. A poll conducted by AFME in a plenary session, concluded that 54% of participants agreed that the size of compliance teams would remain the same over the next 5 years, even with the increase in regulations, enhancing further the need for help with this role.
BoardPacks was a solution that many in attendance were interested in knowing more about, however the star of the show was undoubtedly EntitySquared, our subsidiary governance platform, which sparked many interesting discussions and the benefits that can be gained from using our solution were evident to all who attended.
Whilst we may not know what the future holds for the European economy post 2019, what became apparent was the need for action now in showing your compliance and implementing technology to assist you in this process, which is a conversation we are keen to continue with those who attended.
If you would like to know more about our solutions and how we can assist your organisation, please do get in touch.
