ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Careers support
    6. Mentoring
    7. CA Wellbeing
    8. More for Members
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. ICAS podcast
    15. Newly admitted members 2022
    16. Newly admitted members 2023
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
    7. CA Student wellbeing
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Business and governance
    5. Charities
    6. Coronavirus
    7. Corporate and financial reporting
    8. Cyber security
    9. Ethics
    10. Insolvency
    11. ICAS Research
    12. Pensions
    13. Practice
    14. Public sector
    15. Sustainability
    16. Tax
  11. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD courses and qualifications
    2. CPD news and updates
    3. CPD support and advice
  12. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  13. CA jobs
    1. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    2. Resources for your job search
    3. Advertise with CA jobs
    4. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    5. Azets | What's your ambition?
  14. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  15. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

Designated professional body

Financial services (or investment business) can be a bit of a minefield. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) allows firms to conduct investment business, only if they are regulated by either:

  • The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or they become an appointed representative of another FCA firm.
  • A Designated Professional Body (DPB) such as ICAS, under Part XX of the Act.

Firms cannot be licensed by a DPB and authorised by the FCA.

The DPB status allows ICAS to license accountancy firms to carry out certain restricted  'exempt regulated activities' without the need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  Examples include advising on private company shares, commenting on advice given to a client by an authorised third party or attending meetings between the client and the third party. However what a DPB licensed firm can and can't do can be complicated and you are advised to read on.

If a member performed these activities without a licence from ICAS, or authorisation from the FCA, they would be in breach of FSMA.

Do I need a DPB licence?

ICAS is able to licence you as an 'exempt professional firm' under our DPB regime if you conduct only restricted investment business which is incidental, complimentary and arising out of the firm's professional services. 

These restricted activities are called 'exempt regulated activities'.  Examples include advising on private company shares, commenting on advice given to a client by an authorised third party or attending meetings between the client and the third party.  The DPB Handbook provides guidance:

  • Schedule 2 to the DPB Handbook: outlines the activities that a DPB licensed firm can undertake.
  • Schedule 3: outlines what 'incidental' means
  • Schedule 4: outlines what activities are not regulated and can be conducted by any firm.

Do I need a FCA authorisation?

If you are conducting 'mainstream' investment business activities on a non-incidental basis, such as advising on particular insurance contracts or pensions; advising on particular mortgages, or approving financial promotions, then you can only do so with a financial services authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority .

Schedule 1 to the DPB Handbook: outlines the list of activities that only FCA authorised firms can conduct.  The DPB helpsheet mentioned PDF [210 KB] above also provides advice on this.

What do I do if I require a DPB licence?

If your firm wants to become DPB Licensed you will need to:

  • Submit a DPB Application Form
  • Submit a DPB Affiliate Application Form for each Affiliate in your firm (see below)
  • Pay an annual DPB licence fee (to be advised by ICAS);
  • Have appropriate Professional Indemnity Insurance in place.

If any principals are not members of ICAS (or certain other Designated Professional Bodies, see the application form), they will have to become Designated Professional Body (DPB) Affiliates. Please fill in and return (with your DPB licence application form), a DPB Affiliate application form for each principal who needs to become a DPB Affiliate.

All applications should be sent to Regulatory Authorisations on 0131 347 0286 or regulatoryauthorisations@icas.com.

We will endeavour to process your application within two weeks.  If you wish to know the status of your application please contact us, and we can update you on progress.

Downloads:

  • DPB Application form
  • DPB Affiliate Application form

The DPB Handbook

The handbook provides full details of ICAS' licensing arrangements.

  • Download DPB Handbook (effective from 1 October 2018)
  • Download DPB Handbook Amendments (effective from 1 April 2013)
  • Download Guidance for Investment Business Referral by Members PDF [143 KB]

What happens once my firm is licensed?

The ICAS team will aim to process your application within two weeks of receiving your forms.  Please note that each application requires to go through a detailed checking process.

There is no automatic approval of any application, given the public interest nature of the applications, and you will be notified when a decision has been made regarding your application.

However, you should note that if you have not provided all the information required this could delay your application being processed. We will contact you to request this information. We will let you know how this affects your application timescales.

Once you are licensed there are a number of obligations that you will need to fulfil.  We are here to help, so please contact us if you would like advice or support.  Your firm will need to meet the following:

  • Comply with the DPB Handbook  PDF [979 KB] (effective from 1 April 2013)
  • Notify ICAS within ten days of any changes in the firm.
  • Continue to comply with the professional indemnity insurance requirements
  • Complete the DPB section of the Firms Annual Return each year;
  • Be monitored by ICAS as part of the Practice Monitoring regime.

The EU Service Directive and The Provision of Services Regulations

In accordance with the requirements of the EU Service Directive, which was brought into UK law by The Provision of Services Regulations 2009, information is available about the rules, regulations and formalities that apply to service activities in other EU countries.

This information can be found through Points of Single Contact (PSCs) , which are online e-government portals. Guidance is available on the UK Government's website.

If you need any further guidance on the above, please email regulatoryauthorisations@icas.com or phone 0131 347 0286.

2-23-marsh 2-23-marsh
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba

Accreditations

  • ISO 9001 - RGB (opens new window)
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: