Moneyhub has appointed RSM UK as its statutory auditor of compliance with the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) standards, ahead of launching its commercial pensions dashboard.

This appointment was made following a review of the audit market and a procurement exercise in late 2023, as Moneyhub intends to be among the first Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service (QPDS) operators.

The firms will work together for the rest of the year, with Moneyhub preparing all the necessary documentary evidence to support the pre-connection audit of the Moneyhub QPDS.

Therefore, this will enable RSM to conduct the pre-connection audit as “early and quickly as possible”, once all PDP Standards are finalised.

The PDP Standards are currently being finalised, with the first iteration of design standards expected to be published in Q4 2024, around the same time as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes its final Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) Rules for QPDS operators.

The pre-connection audit (PCA) is a prerequisite before firms can apply to the FCA to be granted permissions to become an FCA-regulated QDPS operator.

This was set out in the Department of Work and Pension’s dashboards regulations, which stated that all applicant firms must undergo a statutory PCA of compliance with the PDP Standards suite, undertaken by an expert party, independent of the applicant firm.

In particular, the standards define all the detailed mandatory data, design, technical, security, service, operational and reporting features with which all commercial pensions dashboards must comply.

These audits must be carried out both prior to the connection of the firm’s QPDS to the PDP Central Digital Architecture and, on an annual basis with the auditor’s official reports sent to the Money and Pension Service (Maps). 

Commenting on the appointment, Moneyhub chief commercial officer, Dan Scholey, said: “Due to the technical breadth of the PDP Standards, Moneyhub wanted to appoint an expert auditor with experience across the full range of relevant fields, including pensions data, consumer-facing app operations, application programming interfaces (APIs), and so on.

“We found that in RSM, along with consistent professionalism, and enthusiasm for collaboration.”

Scholey said Moneyhub was looking forward to working closely with RSM on this new venture.

Adding to this, RSM UK partner, Paul Jennings, said: “We are very much looking forward to working closely with MoneyHub on a development which has such a fundamental impact on how people view, understand, and derive value from their pensions.

“The extent of knowledge, technical expertise and passion within the MoneyHub team is striking, and we are delighted that they have chosen to partner with RSM on such a revolutionary change to the pensions industry, aimed at delivering better outcomes for all participants. 

“Our multi-disciplinary team, highly experienced in a wide range of regulatory assurance work, is well-placed to provide the assurance required for industry to provide this service, in turn giving people the confidence to trust the opportunity this dashboard presents and harness its full potential.”

---