Master Trust Advisory and Assurance

Crowe has taken, and continues to take, a leading role in the development and delivery of master trust assurance services to a range of clients. Working with the ICAEW, the Pensions Regulator and the regulated community, Crowe has helped lead the evolution of assurance and advisory services for master trusts, supporting our clients in a range of services.

Our in-house expertise, which combines dedicated DC and master trust regulatory experience with specialist assurance services is truly unique. Drawing on our in-depth knowledge of the regulatory framework for master trusts, pre and post authorisation, we have supported the implementation of robust standards of governance within Trustee Board and operational teams. This has included comprehensive analysis of systems and procedures to help master trusts determine whether their controls are aligned with expectations set out in assurance frameworks and regulatory good practices.

We have led on a number of important industry initiatives including the role as Chair and Secretariat of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) master trust working group, working in collaboration with the Pensions Regulator and leading on the drafting of the latest revised Master Trust Assurance Framework, referred to as TECH 05/20.

Working in partnership with a portfolio of leading master trust clients, provided by Insurers, other commercial organisation (for example employee benefit consultants) and not for profit industry wide schemes, we provide bespoke audit and independent external assurance solutions, including the annual financial statements audit and the master trust AAF assurance accreditation, under TECH 05/20.

Our thorough knowledge of the regulatory framework, legislation and codified standards helps ensure that we can provide master trusts with broad spectrum of services ranging from:

Master Trust assurance reporting (in accordance with TECH 05/20), incorporating gap analysis of Trustee Board control activities and alignment with Supervisory requirements.
• Bespoke assurance services and agreed upon-procedures to support Trustee monitoring and oversight of outsourced governance functions, for example IT infrastructure, and other regulatory reporting duties.
• Value for money modelling and reporting to help satisfy regulatory requirements as well as help master trusts identify areas where value improvements through synergies and efficiencies can be achieved,
• Governance review and best practice disclosure including Chair’s Governance reporting.