Job Specification
Position Title:
Senior Licensing Approvals Officer
Job Code:
20209 - Financial Officer 5 (B/U)
Purpose of Position :
To conduct financial and business risk analysis and assessment of unique license applications and complex financial product and transaction submissions from financial institutions that are regulated in Ontario by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). To develop sound and supportable recommendations to the CEO/Superintendent on wtiether or not licenses should be issued or approvals be granted. To act as the primary resource to FSCO management/staff on matters related to licensing and statutory approvals, and to lead/conduct consultation relationships with sector representatives.
Duties / Responsibilities :
1. Developing supportable recommendations to the CEO/Superintendent for license/statutory approvals based on in-depth financial and business reviews of license submissions from regulated financial institutions in Ontario (e.g. loan & trust companies, credit unions, mortgage brokerages, insurance companies and co-operatives). Acts independently in the detailed review and risk assessment of offering statements and other submission documents (e.g. mergers, financial reports, actuarial reports, asset sales, buy-sells, amalgamations, dissolutions, financial forecasts, statutory liquidity, reserves, and asset/liability matching levels) that have been drafted by applicant financial institutions and reflect their own unique and often complex business situations. Assesses the soundness of license application proposals and business propositions, and consistency with market realities and determnes compliance with statutory requirements and public protection standards.
2. Conducting independent comprehenswe financial reviews/analysis of license appicatton submissions utilizcng Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) accounting methods to determine the institutions financial operations. status and projected financial condition and to assess/evaluate financial solvency and the potential risks to consumers of new/revised financial products and/or proposed organization changes.
3. Conducting independent comprehensive business reviews of unique license application submissions including researching, analyzing and evaluating new/revised business models, governance structures, partnership arrangements, agreements, organizational structures, nature of products, new/changed endorsements and policy statements to identify investor impact (e.g. revisions to the legal status of investor rights, effectiveness/accuracy of disclosure/communication to investors of product/policy revisions), and to identify and assess the level and range of multi-dimensional risks to investors and the public consumers. Consults with Legal Counsel in the Legal Services Branch for legal review and opinion on specific submission provisions.
4. Identifying problems and deficiencies with submissions and potential impacts on the financial service market place in Ontario, and determining additional information required to accurately assess the application and make a definitive recommendation Leads/conducts consultations with representatives of applicant companies to provide technical expertise on FSCO licensing legislation/policies: clarify submission information as required; discuss the submission financial/business review findings as they re?ate to identified areas of non-compliance with legislation and/or risks to consumers and the industry, and to review other concerns and proposals: facihtate the resolution of issues, and provide guidance for required changes in the submission to meet regulatory requirements.
5. Preparing detailed and comprehenswe due diligence reports outlining the risk assessment of license appl-cation and business proposition submissions outlining the financialibusiness review methodology, analysis and resuts with recommendations to the CEO/Superintendent for license/statutory approval or denial.
6. Providing leadership to a team of colleague unit staff on specific large/complex licensing application/statutory approvals assessment projects Oev&ops submission review objectives plans priorities and time-lines, assigns tasks to team members, provides technical direction and guidance controls the review process, monitors project quality and progress, identifies and resolves Issues and develops final recommendations for action resulting from the review.
7. Leading/conducting stakeholder consultations and sector education outreach initiatives, including engaging industry leaders in discussions r&ated to operational development practices. Reviews consultation feedback and recommends FSCO's course of action. Inspires confidence with industry leaders on FSCO's ability to effectively and critically review license application submissions, and to enhance FSCOs reputation as an informed and effective regulator Attends industry/association meetings and trade shows as FSCOs licensing technical expert to provide guidance to associations
in their consultation plans] and to promote FSCOs regulatory mandate and licensing requirements.
8. Providing advice and expertise to the CEO and senior management across FSCO as a key FSCO knowledge expert and technical resource on matters related to licensing and statutory approvals] and on the financiallbusiness operations of financial service sectors with a focussed emphasis on insurance companies and credit unions. Conducts and/or contributes to projects for the development of licensing legislative, policy and procedural changes that FSCO intends to recommend to the industry. Develops specialized background and briefing materials to guide and support FSCO's operational and policy discussions with industry leaders.
9. Reviewing CEO and FSCO senior management speaking notes for technical accuracy and/or drafting speaking notes for direction to industry Reviews and modifies FSCO prepared documents related to sector consultations for technical accuracy Prepares final recommendations for response letters to stakeholder comments flowing from the annual Statement of Priorities. Prepares technical materials on sectors for the FSCO website.
10. Conducting research on sector specific industry intelligence on trends, issues. changes to the market place and on inter-jurisdictional regulatory legislation. Provides expertise and advice to FSCO senior managers on industry/sector issues which impact FSCO's regulatory mandate. Prepares technical content for contentious ssues sheets for the CEO. Ministry of Finance and the Minister
11. Leading and/or participating on FSCO, ministry, inter-ministry, stakeholder and inter-jurisdictional
project teams and committees.
Knowledge :
• in-depth knowledge and expertise in accounting theory, principles, practices and GMP and IFRS methods, rules and standards to independently conduct comprehensive financial reviews and analysis of license application submission documents including offering statements, merger proposals, financial reports, actuarial reports, asset sales, buy-sells, amalgamations! dissolutions, financial forecasts. statutory liquidity. reserves, and asset/liability matching levels to assess and determine financial solvency and compliance with statutory requirements and public protection standards. and develop sound license approval/denial recommendations to the CEO/Superintendent.
• knowledge of risk based regulatory phncipes. methods and techniques to design/determine appropriate risk analysis and due diligence processes to meet the assessment requirements and statutory approval review objeclive of each unique license submission;
• knowledge of business review and analysis methods/processes, and knowledge of the business operations, governance, product development processes and nature of products of reguated sectors (with a targeted focus on the insurance sector) to conduct detailed assessments of the business operations and proposed product revisions of applicant companies and identify/mitigate risk to policy holders and the general public;
• knowledge of a range of legislation and regulations covered under the ESCO mandate (e.g. Insurance Act, Mortgage Brokers Lenders and Administration Act, Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, Cooperative Corporat,ons Act, Loan and Trust Corporations Act), and FSCO policies and procedures related to the licensing of financial institutions in Ontario to effectively administer the legislation through identification of non-compliance with required legislation, regulations and FSCO policy, assess risk, and recommend licensing approval/denial to the CEO/Superintendent,
• knowledge of specialized financial analysis procedures and processes (e.g. financiat derivatives, asset liability matching. financial reinsurance capital adequacy. capital development options. and dynamic solvency testing) to analyze and conduct risk assessment of offenng statements and financial reports ircluded in licensing submissions, identify and assess compliance and risk issues, facilitate the resolution of issues, and determine if submission meets approval standards and legislative requirements. Knowledge and in-depth understanding of business partnership arrangements (e.g. cooperative sector) to conduct comprehensive financial analysis of complex and unique proposals (e.g
partnership proposals for capital development including membership shares with varying requirements. preference shares, debentures, loans). and to assess risk to potential investors.
• expertise related to the current developments, trends. issues and changes in the financial services sector as well as in accounting and auditing fields to develop/recommend unitlbranch regulatory policies, processes and standards.
Skills :
• expert accounting and financial anaysis skills to independently review and assess offering statements.financial reports. actuarial reports, financial lorecasts. and accounting systems of applicant financial institutions to determine financial viability, potential risk to policy holders and the general pubiic. and compiance with statutory requirements to develop approval/denial recommendations to the CEO/Superintendentanalytical skills to review/assess unique and often complex proposals against legislative requirements: review proposed organizational mergers. changes to business operational practtes. and new/revised products to identify and assess risk, and develop recommendations for licensing approval/denial.
• problem solving skills to recommend appropriate action and facilitate compliance by the financial institutions.
• research skills to conduct detailed research of new business trends in the sectors (e.g. green energy co-operative initiatives), and to research/identify reiated government priorities and/or high profile/media issues to assess business proposals in license applications and provide expertise/advice to senior management or the CEO/Superintendent on key issues linked to the license approval/denial recommendations.
• evaluative skills and excellent professional judgement to assess level and scope of multi-faceted risks; develop appropriate license approval/denial recommendations/ and identify and apply required due diligence to ensure the Superintendents/Ministers obligations are met.
• ability to deal effectively with analytical challenges associated with complex and novel issues.
• program analysis skills to develop recommendations for new/revised legislation, regulations and FSCO policy related to regulatory licensing. Initiative and intuitive/critical thinking skills to thoroughly assess the detail of new and novel products/approaches proposed by license applicants, review complex and inter-related facts, and to appropriately determine/assess risk and form a sound due diligence recommendation to the CEO/Superintendent.
• expert consultation, negotiation, collaboration and communication skills to meet with senior officials and management of financial institutions and financial sector associations including actuaries, auditors and legal representatives to outline licensing legislation/regulatory requirements, interpret legislation
and FSCO policy, request information, provide advice and regulatory expertise, and convey/discuss license apphcation review results and required action.
• oral communication and presentatioi skills to provide tecnncaI expertise, advice and recommendations to FSCO senior management and to lead and participate in FSCQ meetings to ciscuss technical aspects of accounting, actuarial and auditing components of application reviews. sector busness operationslissues, and license application review processes, findings, and
recommendations.
• written communication skills to prepare license application review working papers and reports, briefing documents, correspondence, and due diligence reports for the CEO/Superintendent and senior management.
• team leadership and project management skills to provide leadership, technical direction and mentorship to other staff on financiai/business analysis and to lead large-scale license application reviews
• multi-team orientation and approach to work wholistically and effectively consult with colleagues across the division/FSCO
• knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet, data base and specialized financial computer software to effectively analyze and assess financial institutions financial statements; complete application review
working papers, reports and other schedules, and prepare reports, licensing approval/denial recommendations, correspondence and briefings.
Freedom of Action :
Job works within the provisions of relevant FSCQ legislation, regulations and policies related to the licensing of financial institutions and intermediaries in Ontario. Job is also guided by accounting and auditing procedures, processes and industry standards. Job exercises independent judgement by conducting comprehensive financial and business reviews of license application submissions from Ontario financial institutions, and leading/conducting consultations with officials and representatives of financial institutions related to review results and licensing requirements. Job exercises judgement throughout the application review process in the assessment of unique and often complex financial and business proposals, the identification of the level/nature/scope of risk to policy holders and the general public, and the impact on a functional financial service marketplace Juogement is exercised by identifying risk issues in application submissions and developing/implementing appropriate risk analysis and due diligence processes to address potential risk issues. The job exercises udgement by making sound and supportable recommendations for the approvaL'denial of license applications and financial product/transaction requests, and ensuring that FSCO meets its obligation as the regulatory body that protects financial service consumers Job exercises judgement by providing technical leadership, direction and guidance to team members related to the conducting of large application review projects. Judgement is exercised by acting as a key sector specialist and providing technical advice/expertise to FSCO policy/program development initiatives. Job consults with the Manager in situations in wtiich appication of legislation is subject to new or unclear interpretation, or the issues are particularly sensitive or potentially contentious, but the job is generally expected to have fully addressed the issue and formed a well-reasoned view and recommendation, Overall progress of application review projects are ,nonitored
by the Manager to ensure consistency with regulatory objectives and division policies.