11th January 2010

Not so Secret World

The logistics of running an organisation like the FSA are truly something to behold. Given it's enormous and ever growing field of operations it is no wonder that the seemingly insatiable fuel requirements from the financial services industry to run this "Leviathan" are sometimes subject to an element of scrutiny.

The FSA is very helpful in this process and you may find it extremely interesting to get an overview of what is spent and where. For example, did you know that nearly £3m was recently spent on desks and chairs? £3.6m on the Financial Capability Schools Project training, £2.8m paid to BUPA?

Click on the following links to see:

The FSA’s Policy Standards document which highlights their procedures for consultations and the like

Index relating to how the FSA spends your money

Staff Handbook – pages 61-69 relate to expenses

Interesting when read in conjunction with:

Quarterly updates on the expenses claimed by the FSA Directors

Details of FSA tenders for work – some of the figures are eye-watering

Job families and staff pay ranges

A complete list of all the complaints leveled at the FSA and the outcomes re the Complaints Commissioner Sir Anthony Holland

Information held in registers required by law and other lists and registers relating to FSA functions. This section includes the disclosure log- fines, register of interests, hospitality etc.

Research carried out for Panacea by Adviser Alliance does little to dispel the concerns of many IFAs that the operational expenses are seemingly not subject to constraint in the recessionary times we live in and may go some way to explaining why the FSA, last year, had to consider borrowing very large sums of money by way of overdraft from banks it regulates until the increased fees to cover the running costs are collected.

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