Compliance consultants charge £800-1,500 per day. Monthly retainers run £5,000-10,000. For a decent-sized project, you’re looking at tens of thousands.
Sometimes that’s money well spent. But most of the time? You’re paying expert rates for admin work.
Here’s how to tell the difference.
When you genuinely need a consultant
Getting FCA authorisation
First-time applications are complex. Hundreds of questions, specific formats, regulatory landmines everywhere. A good consultant has done this dozens of times and knows what the FCA wants to see.
Pay for expertise here. Get it right first time.
Facing enforcement or an FCA visit
Regulator at your door? Get professional help. You need someone who knows how the FCA operates, can manage the relationship, and won’t say something that makes things worse.
This isn’t the time to learn on the job.
Genuinely novel regulatory questions
“Can we structure this product this way?” or “Does this new activity need separate permissions?” - these need human judgement from someone with deep experience.
You have literally no compliance resource
If you’re a tiny firm with zero compliance knowledge, a consultant can set you up properly. But this should be a project, not a permanent arrangement.
When you’re wasting money on consultants
Here’s what most firms actually pay consultants to do:
Chasing deadlines and filing returns
Tracking when things are due. Filling in forms. Submitting to the FCA on time.
That’s not £1,000/day work. That’s a calendar and a checklist.
Merrin does this: Regulatory calendar personalised to your permissions. Automated reminders. Return templates ready to go.
Reviewing the same policies every year
Annual compliance manual review. Updating procedures for regulatory changes. Comparing your documents against requirements.
Consultants charge thousands for this. Most of it is mechanical comparison work.
Merrin does this: AI flags exactly what’s changed in regulation and what needs updating in your documents. Minutes, not days.
Tracking who’s done their training
Recording completions. Chasing people who haven’t. Producing reports for the board.
This is pure admin. Why pay consultant rates for it?
Merrin does this: Automated assignment, tracking, reminders, and reporting. No chasing required.
Reviewing every financial promotion
Every ad, email, and social post needs sign-off. At consultant day rates, you either go broke or cut corners.
Merrin does this: AI reviews promotions against FCA rules, flags issues, gives you an audit trail. Human judgement where it matters, automation everywhere else.
Monitoring your AR network
If you’re a principal firm, you’re responsible for everything your ARs do. That means constant oversight, document collection, chasing attestations.
Consultants will do this. But you’re paying £1,000/day for someone to send reminder emails.
Merrin does this: Full AR oversight - onboarding, monitoring, risk scoring, document management. One dashboard instead of one consultant.
Keeping up with regulatory changes
Reading FCA updates. Figuring out if they affect you. Updating your processes accordingly.
Consultants charge for this as “horizon scanning.” It’s important, but it doesn’t need to be manual.
Merrin does this: AI monitors regulatory changes and tells you specifically what affects your firm and what you need to do about it.
The pattern
Notice something?
Consultants are great for one-off, complex, high-stakes work.
But most compliance work isn’t that. It’s recurring, process-driven, ongoing. The same tasks, every week, every month, every year.
Paying £1,000/day for recurring admin is like hiring a barrister to do your filing.
What you’re actually paying for
When you hire a consultant for ongoing compliance support, here’s where the money goes:
- 20% genuine expertise and judgement
- 80% admin, chasing, form-filling, and box-ticking
That 80% is what software should do.
The Merrin approach
We’re not trying to replace consultants entirely. For authorisations, enforcement, and complex strategic questions - use a consultant.
For everything else, use Merrin:
| Task | Consultant cost | Merrin |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly compliance monitoring | £2,000-5,000/month | Included |
| Annual policy review | £3,000-8,000 | Included |
| Training tracking | £500-1,000/month | Included |
| Financial promotions review | £200-500 per item | Included |
| AR oversight (20 ARs) | £3,000-5,000/month | Included |
| Regulatory horizon scanning | £1,000-2,000/month | Included |
One platform. One subscription. No day rates.
Still think you need a consultant?
Ask yourself:
- Is this a one-off project or ongoing work?
- Does it require genuine expertise or just process?
- Am I paying for thinking or for admin?
If it’s ongoing, process-driven admin - that’s what Merrin is built for.
Keep your consultant for the big stuff. Let software handle the rest.
See how much you could save. Book a demo and we’ll show you exactly which consultant tasks Merrin can take over.