As part of its ongoing effort to eliminate needless regulatory costs, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is making it easier for industry firms to handle their regulatory fees.
The OSC announced Thursday that it has revised its fee rule to allow a broader crop of senior officers to certify and submit firms’ annual participation fee forms.
Currently, this process has to be handled by firms’ chief compliance officers (CCOs). Now, other senior officers, such as chief financial officers (CFOs), will be able to certify and the submit the forms.
“Firms have told us that our current process means senior officers must spend time and effort reviewing the same information. To alleviate this burden, we are introducing more flexibility on who can sign off on fee forms,” said Debra Foubert, director, compliance and registrant regulation at the OSC.
Assuming that the change receives approval from the Minister of Finance, the new procedure will be in effect Dec. 1.