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STEALING THE LIMELIGHT
> February 2010 Aztec Group becomes early adopter of AAF accreditation
> January 2010 Aztec Group launches in the UK
> October 2009 Aztec Group strengthens its team with Tax Specialist
> September 2009 Aztec Group Exam successes
> August 2009 Aztec Group takes part in case study for eFront.
> May 2009 Aztec press the button with FundMagic
> May 2009 A new Director at Aztec Group
> March 2009 A move for Aztec Group's Jersey operation
> January 2009 Guernsey Careers Show
> December 2008 Trainee Fund Administrator featured in JEP Careers Supplement
> December 2008 Aztec Group recruits three new staff members
> November 2008 Aztec Group wins Jersey Chartered Institute of Marketing Award
> October 2008 Aztec Group shortlisted for a Marketing award
> September 2008 Aztec Group has been nominated for a Private Equity News Award
> July 2008 Guernsey staff member features in the June Careers Supplement
> July 2008 Associate Director features in the JEP 23rd July 2008
> June 2008 Rob Jones, Director features in the Guernsey Press
> April 2008 Three new arrivals join Aztec Group
> April 2008 Aztec Group staff member features in the GEP
> March 2008 Two Aztec employees feature in the JEP Careers supplement
February 2010 - Aztec Group becomes early adopter of AAF accreditation
The Aztec Group, the independent fund administrator with offices in the Channel Islands, Luxembourg and more recently the UK, has taken proactive steps to ensure its clients and their investors have reassurance in its internal controls by being what it believes to be the first AAF 01/06 accredited independent fund administrator.
The audit, which is in accordance with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Technical Release AAF 01/06, was undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The accreditation involved completing a full review of the organisation’s Channel Island offices’ procedures and control environment to ensure the highest standards in corporate governance were being met.
Karl Hairon, Director of PwC in Jersey commented. “As a result of the catastrophic investment failures of recent times, investors have become increasingly focussed on the control and governance arrangements within their asset managers and associated service providers. Regulators have also begun to look for an increasing degree of assurance over these providers. An AAF 01/06 or SAS70 report provides an independent assessment of the controls in operation within a service provider and goes some way to providing investors and regulators with the assurance they seek. Such reports are a differentiator for providers and in time, as the investment and regulatory landscape continues to evolve, could become an essential requirement for doing business.”
After reviewing accreditation options available the Aztec Group decided to embark on the AAF 01/06 as it was felt the closest option to the newly awaited International Standard which is expected to become the global definitive reporting standard. The AAF places more accountability on the management of an organisation by requesting them to assert the accuracy of the description of their services and provide evidence that controls have been suitably designed and operate effectively for these services.
Simon Radford, Aztec Group’s CFO, said, “We are committed to providing the very best in fund administration and a comprehensive control framework is of paramount importance when working in such a highly regulated and ever changing environment. This report has fully reviewed our working practices to give our clients and their investors peace of mind that our processes are robust and that we take the utmost care in managing their affairs.”
The funds industry has seen a dramatic cultural shift in recent years, whereby the understanding and adherence to regulatory requirements must be ingrained in any fund administrator’s daily processes. The recent high publicity failures within the funds sector, concluding in greater scrutiny of the segregation of fund operations and the regulation of fund product providers, has confirmed the value of using a third party administrator. An independent fund administrator with a proven control framework can provide funds with specialist support and investors with considerable comfort as the accounts and transactions are maintained by a separate regulated entity, whilst at the same time achieving operational efficiencies.
Simon Radford said, “This ring fencing of responsibilities between a fund manager and an accredited administrator provides complete assurance to investors that the fund’s activities are being reported accurately, whilst allowing the fund manager total focus on the running of the fund’s investments. The Aztec Group is steadfast in its approach to working for its clients and their investors to provide the ultimate in fund administration support. The successful completion of this audit is testament to the Aztec Group’s internal control framework and working practices across the Group.”