Are You Ready for What the FCA Is Planning Next? Why Horizon Scanning Is a Board-Level Priority

Most compliance failures don't come out of nowhere. They come from regulatory changes that were signalled months — sometimes years — in advance, and firms that simply weren't watching. Regulatory horizon scanning isn't a luxury reserved for large firms with dedicated regulatory intelligence teams. It's a fundamental risk management discipline, and the FCA expects every authorised firm to be doing it.

In this episode, we're talking about the Regulatory Horizon Scanning Playbook — what it is, how to build a structured process that works in practice, and why firms that get this right consistently outperform their peers when new regulatory requirements land.

What we cover in this episode:

We start by defining what regulatory horizon scanning actually means in a UK financial services context — because there's a significant difference between occasionally glancing at the FCA's website and running a systematic, evidenced process that feeds directly into your firm's risk framework, board reporting, and strategic planning cycle.

We walk through the key sources every compliance professional should be monitoring — from FCA consultation papers, policy statements, and Dear CEO letters, through to HM Treasury publications, PRA communications, and international developments from bodies like FATF and the Basel Committee that have a direct bearing on UK-regulated firms.

We discuss how to structure your horizon scanning output — how to assess regulatory impact, categorise emerging requirements by probability and proximity, and translate intelligence into actionable implementation plans with appropriate lead times built in.

We also cover the governance dimension — because horizon scanning only adds value if the intelligence reaches the right people at the right time. We look at how to integrate it into your compliance monitoring programme, how to present emerging regulatory risk to your board in a way that drives genuine engagement, and how to evidence your horizon scanning activity to the FCA if challenged.

Why this matters right now:

The UK regulatory landscape is moving faster than at any point in recent memory. Consumer Duty, the review of Payment Services Regulations, the evolution of cryptoasset regulation, and the FCA's accelerating use of data-led supervision are all creating an environment where firms that aren't scanning the horizon are already behind.

The FCA expects firms to be forward-looking in their risk management — not simply reactive. Firms without a structured horizon scanning process are exposed to last-minute implementation rushes, inadequate board engagement, and the consequences of being caught unprepared when a new requirement lands.

The practical takeaway:

By the end of this episode, you'll understand what a best-practice horizon scanning process looks like, how to build one proportionate to your firm's size and complexity, and how to turn regulatory intelligence into a genuine operational advantage.

Our Regulatory Horizon Scanning Playbook is available to download at complianceconsultant.org — built by qualified regulatory consultants who track the landscape daily, and ready to implement immediately.

Who this episode is for:

Essential listening for compliance officers, MLROs, Chief Risk Officers, NEDs with regulatory oversight responsibilities, and any senior manager accountable for the firm's regulatory risk management framework.

Compliance Consultant — Making Compliance Work.

Visit us at complianceconsultant.org or call us on 0800 689 0190.

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References: FCA Business Plan 2025/26; FCA Three-Year Strategy 2025–2028; Financial Services and Markets Act 2023; FATF Mutual Evaluation — UK, 2024 update; FCA Consumer Duty Finalised Guidance FG22/5; HM Treasury Financial Services Future Regulatory Framework Review.