Conduct Rules (COCON) Everything you need to know to keep the regulator happy

This is a practical half-day briefing for those who operate in areas that contribute to employee competence and have responsibilities for the training/briefing of others on the individual conduct rules (COCON) and the implications for firms and individuals alike.

Role specific conduct rules training is something that a firm is responsible for, as its not optional! It is imperative that all staff covered by the Conduct Rules understand the implications of the Conduct Rules now applying to them.

The deadlines passed some time ago now for initially training staff in the “role relevant” context in which the conduct rules apply to them. And this programme allows firms to reflect on the effectiveness of their roll out programmes, discuss and debate industry best practice and look ahead to the challenge that the Consumer Duty of Care will bring to the provision of Conduct Rules Training.

This event will give delegates the opportunity to review their approach, consider what went well and what might need improvement, and to discuss with peers emerging best practice in this area.

As part of this event, we will consider a range of scenarios that firms could consider when educating individuals in how the conduct rules apply and how firms can structure scenarios that bring alive the rules in the manner in which the FCA expect. In addition, we will be considering the interaction between the incoming Consumer Duty of Care and what this means for individuals, senior managers and those responsible for the training provision

The course is highly interactive and will allow delegates to receive technical and regulatory input which will be followed by discussion, debate and case studies to assist with understanding and to help embed learning.

Key Learning Objectives

• Discuss the current approach to “role relevant” conduct rules training
• Consider how their initial implementation projects went and discuss “lessons learnt”
• Define what “role relevant” learning is and why it is so important to the FCA
• Debate how best to measure the effectiveness of such training
• Discuss stated FCA expectations for Conduct Rules training and the outcomes they want to see
• To consider emerging best practice around the design, delivery and embedding of role relevant conduct rules training
• Discuss the FCA expectations for the new Consumer Duty of Care, the changes relevant to COCON and the additional obligations this brings

Contact the IA Training Team to ask questions regarding any of the courses we run, or if you are experiencing problems or difficulties when attempting to register, please email: Training@theia.org

13:00 Introductions, objectives and taking part in the training session

13:15 The regulatory objectives for SM&CR and reviewing the purpose of the Conduct Rules framework and the outcomes the FCA are looking for

• Accountability for Conduct across your business

13:30 Embedding the Tier 1 & Tier 2 Conduct Rules across your organisation(s) – What is emerging as best practice

• The Conduct Rules in practice, the impact of Certified Managers and their performance
• What actions have been taken since the initial introduction of conduct rules for the majority and what training and embedding has taken place. What works well? What might need revision?
• The impact the new Consumer Duty will have on the conduct rules and their application
• Conduct Rule Six – What is the new requirement and how will this impact individual accountability?

14:00 The practical application of the Individual Conduct Rules

• The steps required of all Managers and the requirement for on-going training input
• Role relevant vs generic roll outs 
• Who is accountable and for what?
• Where conduct rules are used to hold individuals to account (sampling recent fines linked to conduct rules breaches)

14:05 The regulatory obligations for the training of Conduct Rules

• Learning from the Banks and Building Societies – Feedback from both the PRA and FCA assessment of SM&CR implementations in Banking & Insurance
• What does good training look like and who is accountable – FCA expectations
• The impact of remote working on conduct and the roll-out of training

14:40 Break

15:00 Making the Conduct Rules relevant and personal for our employees

• Using Case Studies and Role Matrix – breakout groups
• Feedback and conclusions

15:45 Summary of event

• Summary and review of overall objectives for the event
• Review of delegate learning points and post event actions
• Feedback

16:00 Close of event

Lynne Hargreaves

Lynne Hargreaves has been providing regulatory advisory support to the Financial Services industry for a number of years. Lynne specialises in the interpretation of FCA regulation and the impact on people. This includes the design and development of training & competence frameworks, the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), managing conduct risk, MiFID II and developing culturally aligned pragmatic policies and processes. With a proven track record in operational HR and L&D Lynne recognises the need to ensure solutions are easy to understand and effective.

Lynne has provided consultancy support on T&C scheme design and implementation, diversity and inclusion, the EU Insurance Distribution and Mortgage Credit Directives, Conduct Risk development, HR performance management practices, target operating models and the design of associated training.

Lynne has over 20 years’ experience in Financial Services within a variety of roles in the Retail sector before moving into the world of consulting. The range of senior roles included Sales, T&C, L&D and Operational Leadership. During this time Lynne was responsible for successfully delivering a range of key regulatory initiatives including a strategic Group T&C Programme, SM&CR, S166 remedial actions and the Mortgage Market and Retail Distribution Reviews to name but a few!

IA Member £395.00 +VAT
Non-Member 545.00 +VAT

Pay using a credit card online, or if you wish to be invoiced please email your full details to: Training@theia.org

PLEASE NOTE: Full payment for the course must be made prior to the course commencement date.

• Any cancellation must be made in writing.
• For all cancellation received 15-30 days prior to the course start date, 50% of the course fee is still payable.
• No refund is given for a cancellation made 14 days or less prior to the commencement of a course.
• Transferring from one course to another is treated as a cancellation.
• You can substitute one delegate for another at no additional cost. In this instance, please give two business days’ notice.

Hybrid Training Courses:

Hybrid deliveries of our training allows participants on our courses the option to attend in-person here from our offices at Camomile Court, or you can attend virtually via MS Teams.

Please be advised a training course could change from hybrid delivery to solely virtual delivery. In such an event, we will inform delegates at least one week prior to the course delivery date.

There are a limited number of in-person spaces available on this course and this will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

This programme has been designed for all individuals subject to the Conduct Rules (COCON) as introduced under the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SM&CR.) 

This will also be pertinent for managers, supervisors, HR teams and those managers responsible for the training of Conduct Rules within an organisation.