Mandatory Competencies Flashcards
What does your firm do to ensure the health and safety of its employees?
- Has a H&S hierarchy and policy which is updated regularly
- Training is provided to staff
- Internal Audits
What is the Health and Safety at work act?
What are its basic principles & what penalties are there?
The H&S at Work Act 1974
- UK legislation ensuring health, safety & wellbeing of employees & others
- Safe operation & maintenance of office environment and equipment
- Adequate & appropriate training provided
- Employers must keep H&S policy up-to-date
- Unlimited fines
- 2 years in prison
- Director Disqualified
What is ‘Personal Data’?
Anything that could identify an individual
e.g.
- Name
- ID Number
- Location
- Characteristics
What is RIDDOR?
Reporting of Injuries, Disease & Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (2013)
Places duty to report on:
- Employers
- Self-employed
- Responsible Persons
If an accident:
- Causes injury
- Occurred at work
- Is reportable
What are the CDM regulations?
Construction, Design, & Management regulations (2015)
Aims to consider H&S throughout entire projects, from conception to demolition
Projects become notifiable if they:
- Last longer than 30 days
- Are more than 20 workers
- Are over 500 person days
Tell me about IFRS
International Financial Reporting Standards
In the Red Book
Sets out 2 financial reporting frameworks in the UK:
- IFRS
- GAAP
Tell me about NPPF
National Planning Policy Framework
- Government planning policy for England
S.8 relates to the provision of healthy, inclusive & safe places
Consideration required through all levels of project management & society
Inclusion includes use, not just access.
What is valuer registration & what is the purpose?
A risk monitoring & assurance programme that checks Red Book compliance
Assurance of compliance provides protection & confidence for valuers & clients
Indicates competence and reliability
What is the difference between risk and hazard ?
Hazard - anything that could cause harm
Risk - combination of:
- likelihood of occurrence
- severity of outcome
What are the:
- 7 Key Principles
- 8 Individual rights
of GDPR?
7 Key Principles:
1) Lawfulness, fairness, transparency
2) Purpose limitation
3) Data minimisation
4) Accuracy
5) Storage limitation
6) Integrity & confidentiality
7) Accountability
8 Individual Rights:
1) To be informed
2) Access
3) Rectification
4) To erasure
5) Restrict processing
6) Data portability
7) object
8) Automated decision making
What are included in your firms Terms of Business?
- Introduction
- Persons responsible
- Charges
- Payment Procedures
- Confidentiality
- Limitation & Liability
- Data Protection
- Complaints Procedure
- Termination Procedures
What components would you find in a business plan?
Why are they needed?
- Executive Summary
- Marketing Strategy
- Product or service provided
- Management Structure
- Responsibilities & Targets
Help to secure new instructions, expand client base and allows for resource planning
Terms of engagement examples
- Client details
- Staffing details
- Conflict of interest declaration
- Scope of work
- Assumptions
- Fees
- Complaint Handling Procedure
- Liabilities
Why would a firm want to RICS accreditation?
Status shows that the firm
- behaves ethically
- handles client money responsibly
- acts transparently
- has necessary skills and competence
- handles complaints appropriately
What is a safe place?
A place or environment where people feel safe from discrimination, criticism, harassment, and harm.
What are your firms procedures for checking conflict of interest?
Set out in my company’s Conflict of Interest Policy, available on the Integrated Management System (IMS)
- Circulate a quality plan at the start of a new job
- Keep the QP on file
- Manager must raise any conflict of interest with all affected parties
- We must receive client approval in writing before proceeding
What is a balance sheet?
What is a profit and loss statement?
What is a cash flow statement?
Balance Sheet -
A statement of financial position at a specific point in time (assets, liabilities, equity)
Financial statement -
Statement recording revenue, costs, and expenses (usually quarterly)
Cash flow statement -
Statement showing net cash-flow position to help assess liquidity
Have you dealt with a complaint before & what did you do?
Complaint from a landowner that a surveyor had taken access without consent
- Called client to confirm details
- Logged complaint in the complaint handling log
- notified complaint handling officer
- reviewed practises and held internal meeting to discuss avoiding in the future
- the complaint was resolved and did not escalate
What is the RICS guidance on Health and Safety? Is it mandatory?
RICS Surveying Safely 2018
Guidance - not mandatory
When is it appropriate to use informed consent?
When the member/firm are satisfied that
- proceeding is in all parties best interest
- it is not illegal
- objective, competent, and diligent service can still be provided.
How does your firm ensure it stays profitable?
- timesheet and expenditure records
- project reviews
- Team meetings for resource planning
- Performance reviews / appraisals
What guidance does the RICS offer regarding conflict of interest?
RICS professional statement ‘Conflicts of Interest’ 2017
The RICS ethics tree
If a client wanted to pay you in advance of works, how would you deal with this?
- Create client account
- Provide statement of account
- Agree and inform of drawdowns
- Provide statement rationalising drawdowns
- Provide final statement on completion
How have you agreed an uplift to your fees from a client?
- Met client to discuss change in scope
- Provide cost estimate, in writing, for additional work
- Confirmed new total fee account proposed
- Offered further discussion if required
- Awaited consent before proceeding
What are the rules regarding financial account reporting?
Companies Act 2006
All PLC’s must file annual accounts with Companies House each year
And must be kept for 3 years, or 6 for PLC’s.
Under what Act are audits required?
Companies Act 2006
How does your company guard against money laundering?
- Anti Money Laundering policy
- Conducts AML risk assessments
- Adopt internal controls and procedures
- Provide Staff Training
- Client ID procedures
- Keep good records
What is a client money account and what types are there?
What are our obligations?
An account holding client money under complete control of an RICS firm/member.
Discrete (1 client)
General (more than 1)
- keep client money safe
- use accounts appropriately
- ensure controls & procedures are in place
What must we do when holding Client Money?
- Maintain exclusive control over client accounts
- ensure no other money is held in that account
- ensure ‘client’ and the firms name are specified in the account name
- ensure money is immediately available to the client
- Provide banks operating conditions
What must we do in relation to accounting records & control of client money?
- Keep records of all transactions
- ensure all transactions align with client instructions
- publish money handling procedures on website
- prevent overdrafts & rectify any immediately
- have adequate data protection in place
What is the RICS Client Money Protection Scheme?
- Run by the RICS
- Will reimburse members of public for direct loss of funds
- funded by RICS insurance policy
Split into 2 parts
- General Client Money Protection
- Residential agency in England protection
What are the benefits of an inclusive environment?
- Reduced social inequality
- Reduced cost on adaptations long-term
- Attracts a diverse group of users
- Improved economic development
What is the minimum indemnity cover required for firms?
Depends on previous years turnover -
- less than £100,000 = £250,000
- £100,000 - £200,000 = £500,000
- Over £200,000 = £1,000,000
What are the RICS rules of conduct?
Rules 1 -
Must be honest, act with integrity and comply with their professional obligations
Rule 2 -
Maintain professional competence
Rule 3 -
Provide good quality, diligent service
Rule 4 -
Treat others with respect, and encourage diversity and inclusion
Rule 5 -
Act in the public interest, take responsibility, and maintain public confidence in the profession.
What would you need if you set up a new practise?
- Insurance
- Business Plan
- H&S Policy
- Complaints Handling Procedure
- Bank details
- Website & Email Address
- Staff Contracts
What is the role of an auditor?
To verify an entities procedures and/or accounts.
To examine statements to ensure financial position and practises are accurately represented.
How long do you keep data for?
Bell Ingram Data Protection Policy
Held for duration of business relationship, + 1 year
Held for up to 6 years to protect against legal risk
What types of conflicts of interest are there & where are they found in RICS guidance?
RICS conflicts of interest professional statement 1st edition Jan 2018
1) Party Conflict
2) Own Interest Conflict
3) Confidential Information Conflict
What must we do regarding conflict of interest?
1) Identify and manage Conflict of Interest
2) Keep records of decision making & measures implemented to avoid them
How do you determine if a gift is appropriate?
- Consult the RICS ethics tree
- Consult my firms anti-bribery policy
- Consult RICS professional statement ‘Bribery, Corruption, Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing’ Feb 2019
What is a bribe?
What are the consequences of a bribe?
An inducement or reward offered, promised or provided unethically to gain any commercial, contractual, or personal advantage
- fines
- Imprisonment
- Legal Costs
- Adverse Publicity
If you accidentally send confidential information to the wrong party, what should you do?
Act Honestly
- Inform Client
- Inform Manager
Act Diligently
- Contact recipient & Ask to delete or destroy information
Take Responsibility
- Learn lessons
- Deal with complaints as appropriate
What is informed consent?
Consent given by any party who may be impacted by a Conflict of Interest that they understand:
- there is a conflict of interest or a risk of one
- The RICS firm knows and understands this
- What it is or may be
- The Conflict of Interest may inhabit the RICS Firm
But remains happy for them to proceed
How is data secured in your firm?
- Paper Files in lockable cabinets
- Folders, documents & external storage devices are encrypted
- Two-Stage Authentication
- Limited access to SharePoint
You are offered tickets to Ascott by a client. Do you accept? What do you do?
Gifts must be proportionate and not used as a reward to gain an advantage
I would politely decline, log this in the firms gifts & hospitality register and if I was concerned about bribery, report to the manager.
