Internal Capital Adequacy & Risk Assessment (ICARA).

Expert guidance to help firms develop, maintain, and evidence an effective ICARA process.

We design ICARA processes that are practical, proportionate, and fully embedded into day-to-day risk management. Rather than treating prudential risk assessments as a one-off compliance obligation, we ensure the ICARA reflects your risk profile and supports a more dynamic, resilient approach to capital planning.

Whether building your ICARA from scratch or refining an existing framework, we offer tailored support, aligned to your firm’s risk profile and regulatory environment. A

BLUEPRINT FOR MASTERING ICARA.

The FCA is clear – the ICARA is more than a one-off compliance task and must be treated as a live process and integrated into everyday risk management and governance. Cosegic guides firms through this process by offering everything from comprehensive ICARA reviews and practical recommendations to hands-on workshops and structured templates.

To accurately align your ICARA with industry standards, we offer sector benchmarking that compares your financial resources against peers based on business model, scale, and complexity. This helps you avoid positions that are out of step with the market and therefore more likely to invite scrutiny. The result is a documented ICARA process that not only meets regulatory expectations but enhances risk management and strengthens strategic resilience.

Speak to a sector expert

Rule the...

RIGOUR

A robust ICARA development process, designed and delivered by Cosegic’s financial resilience experts ensures every component of your assessment is well-defined, clearly evidenced and regulator-ready.

READINESS

Through expert-led workshops, we guide firms in developing their risk assessments, offering hands-on support in modelling scenarios and conducting stress testing.

REFINEMENT

We review and refine your final ICARA and MIF007 return, ensuring they align with regulatory standards and accurately reflect your firm’s risks.

Latest Resources

Explore latest resources

Stay ahead with our latest insights, guidance and analysis on regulation and compliance across financial services.

Article

Consumer Duty – clarifying scope and helping firms to take a more proportionate approach.

The FCA’s proposed changes to the Consumer Duty aim to provide greater clarity on its scope, enabling firms to apply

Article

Ghost Broking: Why This Issue Still Keeps Me Up at Night.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently issued another warning—this time highlighting the growing risk of fake motor insurance being

Article

Corporate Memory: Why It Is Overlooked, Why It Matters, and How to Build It.

When people hear the phrase “corporate memory”, it often conjures an unhelpful stereotype: long-serving employees reminiscing about past glories or

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Find answers to the questions we’re asked most often, from our compliance and training services to how we can support your business.

What is the ICARA process and why is it important?

The Internal Capital and Risk Assessment (ICARA) process is a core requirement under the FCA's Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR). It requires investment firms to assess their capital and liquidity adequacy on an ongoing basis, identify the potential harms their business could cause, and ensure they hold sufficient financial resources to manage those risks and wind down in an orderly manner if required.

How does the FCA expect firms to approach the ICARA process?

The FCA is clear that the ICARA must be treated as a live, ongoing process rather than a one-off compliance exercise. Firms are expected to integrate the ICARA into their day-to-day risk management and governance frameworks, ensuring it accurately reflects their current risk profile and is updated regularly to reflect changes in the business and regulatory environment.

What are the most common weaknesses in firms' ICARA processes?

Common weaknesses include treating the ICARA as a static document rather than a live process, inadequate stress testing, failure to integrate the ICARA into board-level governance, poorly evidenced assessments of potential harms, and wind-down plans that are not credible or sufficiently detailed to meet FCA expectations.

What is sector benchmarking in the context of ICARA?

Sector benchmarking compares a firm's financial resources against peers based on business model, scale, and complexity. It helps firms avoid positions that are out of step with the market and therefore more likely to invite FCA scrutiny, ensuring their ICARA reflects both regulatory requirements and industry standards.

How can Cosegic help improve our ICARA process?

Cosegic designs ICARA processes that are practical, proportionate, and fully embedded into day-to-day risk management. Whether building your ICARA from scratch or refining an existing framework, we offer comprehensive ICARA reviews, practical recommendations, hands-on workshops, structured templates, and sector benchmarking to ensure your ICARA meets regulatory expectations and enhances strategic resilience.