Workflow Automation for IFA Firms
Your Consumer Duty Evidence Trail, Automated
Consumer Duty requires continuous evidence that your clients receive good outcomes. Manual suitability reviews, client communication records, and annual assessments leave compliance gaps that automated workflows close permanently.
2–3 hrs
Recovered per adviser per review cycle
100%
Consumer Duty evidence trail automated
From £3,500
Single adviser · From £5,500 multi-adviser
Consumer Duty is live — and the FCA expects continuous evidence, not annual snapshots
THE COMPLIANCE GAP
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Suitability reviews documented manually in Word or PDF
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Client communications scattered across email, phone notes, CRM
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Annual assessment compiled from scratch each year
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Vulnerable client disclosures flagged informally, not systematically
WITH OPSCOPILOT
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Suitability review documentation created automatically
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Every client communication logged with timestamp to CRM
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Annual assessment data collected continuously throughout year
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Vulnerable client flagging systematic and auditable
Consumer Duty came into full force in July 2024. The FCA's expectation is that firms can demonstrate, at any point, that their products and services deliver good outcomes for retail customers — with documented evidence of how they have assessed, monitored, and acted on this obligation continuously.
Most IFA practices are delivering good outcomes but documenting them manually — in spreadsheets, notes, and systems that do not produce a continuous, auditable record. The gap between what is happening and what can be demonstrated is where Consumer Duty risk lives.
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
4 Consumer Duty workflows for IFA practices
01
Suitability Review Documentation
The review workflow triggers at the scheduled date. Pre-review questionnaire sent to client. Questionnaire response logged with timestamp. Review agenda prepared automatically. Outcome and any mandate changes recorded. Post-review suitability confirmation letter generated and sent.
03
Annual Assessment Sequence
Consumer Duty's annual board assessment requires management information on client outcomes throughout the year. Automated workflows generate this data on a rolling basis — so your annual assessment takes hours, not weeks, to complete.
02
Client Communication Records
Every communication with each client — emails, letters, meeting notes, telephone summaries — captured and logged automatically to the client record in your CRM. No manual data entry. Permanent, searchable, auditable record from day one.
04
Vulnerable Client Identification
Clients who disclose vulnerability indicators are automatically flagged in the CRM. A review task is assigned to the responsible adviser. The outcome of that review is logged against the client record. Systematic, consistent, and fully auditable at any FCA visit.
Three business benefits beyond the FCA requirement
Adviser capacity
Automating the documentation elements of suitability reviews recovers 2–3 hours per adviser per review cycle — hours redirected to client-facing advisory work that generates fee income.
Client experience
Clients who receive timely, consistent review communications are significantly more likely to refer and significantly less likely to leave within the first 36 months of the relationship.
Practice valuation
Acquirers are paying a premium for IFA practices with documented, automated Consumer Duty processes. Compliance infrastructure is now a material factor in practice valuation.
Three advisers, 380 active clients. Pre-implementation: suitability reviews documented manually in Word, client communications logged inconsistently, annual Consumer Duty assessment taking three weeks to compile.
Multi-adviser IFA practice, South East England
"We were meeting the spirit of Consumer Duty but we couldn't demonstrate it consistently. OpsCopilot automated the documentation layer in 12 days. Our FCA supervisory visit three months later was the smoothest we've had. The reviewer said our evidence trail was exemplary."
Managing Director
UK IFA practice · 3 advisers · 380 clients · Implemented 2025
12 days
Implementation
2–3 hrs
Recovered per adviser per review
Half day
Annual assessment (was 3 weeks)
Exemplary
FCA evidence trail rating
From audit to live Consumer Duty automation in 14 days
01
Day 1
Free Consumer Duty workflow audit
We review your current suitability review process, client communication storage, and annual assessment approach. We identify the highest-risk compliance gaps and give you a specific automation plan. 30 minutes.
No obligation.
03
Days 13–14
Testing, handover & FCA documentation briefing
Full testing with live client data. Team training included. We provide a plain-English summary of how the automated workflows satisfy each Consumer Duty requirement — ready for your Compliance Officer to review. 90-day warranty.
02
Days 2–12
Build inside your back-office and CRM
We configure all four workflows inside your existing software — Intelligent Office, IRESS, Adviser Office, Xplan, or any back-office platform with an API. HubSpot and Salesforce integration included. No new platforms.
💡
Works with: Intelligent Office · IRESS · Adviser Office · Xplan · HubSpot · Salesforce · Dynamics CRM · Any back-office system with an API
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