– Delivering clients solutions for the Regulator’s enhanced focus on IT and Cybersecurity-

Cordium, a leading global provider of compliance consulting, accounting, tax and software to the financial services industry, has entered into a partnership with IP Sentinel, the specialist provider of IT solutions, cybersecurity, monitoring and audit services to regulated entities.

Cordium and IP Sentinel have entered into this partnership due to the increased demand from clients for advice on safeguarding their infrastructure and the identification of cost-effective solutions for technology issues. Much of the infrastructure underlying a firm’s ability to comply with financial regulation, such as the maintenance of records and the proper execution of trades, is now technology dependent. The SEC has put considerable focus on cybersecurity. Further to this, the FCA has recently signalled that a firm’s underlying technology setup is crucial to its ability to meet regulatory obligations, and that IT will accordingly come under greater scrutiny from now on.

IP Sentinel offers a range of services to regulated entities. It provides regulatory IT consultancy, advising on how to outsource IT and manage outsourced IT while remaining compliant with FCA and SEC regulations. For firms who do not have a Chief Technology Officer, IP Sentinel supplies compliant architectures directly via a virtual CTO service and manages these relationships for the firms on a continuing basis. IP Sentinel can also assist growing firms via start-up packages that assist clients with all the peripheral, yet critical, essentials needed to begin a business, such as a logo, a website, email hosting, telephony, connectivity and hardware. For managers further along the growth track, IP Sentinel assists with major migration and scaling projects, as well as providing advice and services relating to cyber and information security. The firm was founded by CEO James Hogbin, whose career spans many years on both the fund management and IT side of the industry and includes him having served as CTO for a number of hedge funds and setting up his own quant fund.

James Hogbin, Director of IP Sentinel, said: “In today’s world the ability of a firm to comply with regulatory obligations is completely intertwined with its IT systems and procedures. Yet, the industry has evolved in such a way that the two are typically thought of and dealt with quite separately. For example, IT outsourcing is often treated with far less care than the outsourcing of book keeping. Recently this has become something that firms can ill-afford as the FCA is explicitly turning its attention to the management of IT. Cordium’s deep regulatory expertise combined with IP Sentinel’s wealth of insight into fund management IT operations makes for the perfect team to help our clients meet this challenge.”

Stephen Burke, Managing Director EMEA at Cordium, said: “As we have said previously, firms are operating in an increasingly joined-up world where the lines between compliance, tax, and accounting are all starting to blur. Our business has always been about adapting to this new reality and offering our clients the most comprehensive service possible by connecting all of these disciplines. Until now, IT has been missing in that offering, but through this partnership we can begin to connect the dots for the benefit of our clients.”