Moneyhub has appointed RSM UK as its statutory Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service auditor of compliance with the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) Standards, ahead of its commercial pensions dashboard launch.
According to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) regulations, all operators of commercial pensions dashboards must appoint an independent expert auditor to ensure compliance with the PDP.
The regulations also stipulate that all applicant firms must undergo a statutory pre-connection audit (PCA) of compliance with the PDP Standards suite, undertaken by an expert party, independent of the applicant firm to become a Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service (QPDS) provider.
The PDP Standards set out the specific mandatory data, design, technical, security, service, operational, and reporting elements that all commercial pension dashboards must meet. It is now being finalised, and the first iteration is likely to be released at the same time as the FCA Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) Rules for QPDS operators at the end of this year.
The audits must be carried out before connection to the Central Digital Architecture, and then annually, with the auditor’s official reports being sent to the Money and Pension Service (MaPS).
Moneyhub and RSM UK will collaborate for the rest of the year to prepare the necessary documentation for a pre-connection audit of Moneyhub’s QPDS. RSM will carry out the audit, which is required before firms can apply to the FCA for approval as a regulated QPDS operator, once PDP Standards are finalised.
Moneyhub chief commercial officer Dan Scholey says: “Due to the technical breadth of the PDP Standards, Moneyhub wanted to appoint an expert auditor with experience across the full range of relevant fields, including pensions data, consumer-facing app operations, application programming interfaces (APIs), and so on. We found that in RSM, along with consistent professionalism, and enthusiasm for collaboration.
“We are looking forward to working closely with RSM on this new venture, and continuing to lead the market in supporting the delivery of commercial pensions dashboards to consumers, helping people to engage with their retirement savings and driving better outcomes for savers and providers alike.”
RSM UK partner Paul Jennings says: “We are very much looking forward to working closely with MoneyHub on a development which has such a fundamental impact on how people view, understand, and derive value from their pensions. The extent of knowledge, technical expertise and passion within the MoneyHub team is striking, and we are delighted that they have chosen to partner with RSM on such a revolutionary change to the pensions industry, aimed at delivering better outcomes for all participants.
“Our multi-disciplinary team, highly experienced in a wide range of regulatory assurance work, is well-placed to provide the assurance required for industry to provide this service, in turn giving people the confidence to trust the opportunity this dashboard presents and harness its full potential.”
