Auxillias Founder profiles

She also assists clients by advising on contentious matters such as asset and motor finance asset recoveries, finance litigation and dispute resolution. 

Jo’s experience makes her truly authoritative and her name is regularly mentioned in the key legal directories. In the 2023 edition of Chambers UK, Jo maintained her Band 2 individual ranking in the Consumer Finance category and was described by a client as having “a deep sector knowledge, network and awareness that we find invaluable.” and that: “Her ability to help us translate and navigate the regulatory and legal landscape has been pivotal."

Another client said: "I have every confidence in the advice I receive from Jo on any consumer credit or broader financial services matter."

Before co-founding Auxillias Limited, most recently she led a legal team that received the Professional Services Firm of the Year Award from the International Asset Finance Network (IAFN) for the firm’s UK asset finance and leasing division. The judges commended her leading role in auto and equipment finance, and they also recognised her work as being “at the forefront of consultations and regulatory reform”, noting “the enormous contribution made, not just to their clients, but to the wider industry.” 

Over the years, Jo has led her teams to award-level performances, including: 

• “Top Asset Finance Legal Team of the Year” – Leasing World journal (2017 and 2016). 

• “Leasing Law Firm of the Year” Award (2012 and 2013). 

• “Asset Finance Legal Firm of the Year” – Leasing Life magazine (Highly Commended) (2013). 

Jo herself has won the Leasing World “Leasing Personality of the Year” Award (2014 and 2016), and has been recognised over the years by Leasing Life as one of the most influential people in the European leasing industry on its Power 50 List. She sits on the board of the UK Leasing Foundation, the Asset Finance – Professionals Association (AF-PA) and the Fair Banking Foundation panel.

During her consulting period, Daksha was involved in leading major projects, supporting businesses to complete work requiring rectification and remediations due to failure to comply with the financial services regulation. Projects involved working as a main stakeholder within the businesses in line with legal, statutory, compliance, regulatory and governance matters. 

She has also been involved in many other projects such as creating new innovative regulated online financial products, ensuring digital platforms are fully compliant with statutory and legal requirements, carrying out regulatory and legal checks of post-contractual Consumer Credit documentation and ensuring that the BAU processes and procedure are fully legally compliant. 

Daksha has also assisted new start-ups to launch their businesses within the financial services sector. 

Additionally, Daksha has expertise in: 

• Consumer, asset and motor finance – credit and hire, contentious and non-contentious matters 

• Consumer Credit Act 1974 and secondary legislation, the FCA handbook, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Supply of Goods Act 1979, the Supply of Goods & Services Act 1982, the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973, the Hire Purchase Act 1964 and others 

• Writing regulated and unregulated credit and hire agreements, pre- and post-contractual documentation, terms and conditions, policies and procedures 

• Carrying out compliance, transactional and regulatory work 

• Working on remediation and rectification projects 

• Dealing with contentious matters – satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose, innocent purchaser and title claims 

• Handling complex litigation, cross border disputes, asset tracing, fraud, financial crime and investigations 

• Anti-money laundering – PEPS and high risk/value 

• Defending actions brought against banks and other financial institutions 

• Financial mis-selling, misrepresentation, complaints handling, section 75 claims and dealing with the Financial Ombudsman 

• Dispute resolution – without prejudice meetings and formal ADR mediation

Auxillias Team profiles

All this experience and knowledge means he is an expert in helping companies to fulfil compliance requirements, problem solve any issues and deliver training to staff at all levels whilst also maintaining a strong commercial focus.

Simon was previously head of compliance for Volkswagen Financial Services in the UK, managing its transition to FCA regulation of Consumer Credit Activities. He has also been head of compliance for Oakbrook Finance and Loans at Home. As part of these roles, he has dealt with applications for full FCA permissions, implementation of the Senior Management and Certification regime, development of compliance monitoring plans, building new compliance teams, and designing and delivering successful regulatory training to both senior management and operational teams.

Simon has undertaken a varied portfolio of consultancy projects including working as a consultant with a leading telecoms organisation on the launch of a new Consumer Credit Product. He delivered significant results including training senior managers and operational teams on FCA requirements and advising on the design of control frameworks and collections strategies. Simon helped with a leading motor finance firm to enhance its risk and compliance framework including redesigning its policy and procedure framework. Simon has also worked with a large gaming provider on enhancing their money laundering and vulnerable customer response.

 Simon has direct experience working with the regulator on authorisations, supervision and thematic reviews as well as developing and maintaining effective relationships on behalf of his clients. He has also delivered highly successful presentations to many people at industry conferences.

 Key areas of expertise:

•   Conduct risk

•   Vulnerable customers

•   Senior management and certification regime

•   Affordability and creditworthiness

•   Financial promotions

•   Outsourcing relationships and appointed representatives

•   Brokering

•   Anti-money laundering and financial crime

•   Collections

•   Controls testing

•   Problem solving issues within existing compliance frameworks

•   Planning, developing, and delivering successful training to staff

•   Designing and implementing effective compliance functions

Read more about our regulatory compliance and training service offering.

Carrie has over ten years of experience operating as a member of the C-Suite and as a legal, compliance and regulatory advisor to boards within the automotive, online retail and financial services sector.  Former general counsel and company secretary to Mitsubishi Motors UK Group, Carrie was chair of the risk and compliance committee and holder of FCA SMF16 Compliance Oversight function with overall responsibility for the legal, compliance (consumer credit and insurance distribution), risk management and corporate governance functions. 

 With extensive multi-jurisdictional experience and a proven track record of dealing with regional legal, regulatory, and cultural differences including in Japan and Europe, Carrie is renowned for being an excellent communicator with strong relationship management skills who consistently delivers and practices business partnering with multi-stakeholders.

Previous roles include operating as a board Trustee for a DB retirement benefits ccheme and working for several national UK law firms specialising in providing general commercial advice and litigation. 

Carrie is also a co-director for an e-commerce and beverage start-up business, governance and policy brand ambassador for the Institute of Directors, and the founder of Grace Counsel Limited, a legal consultancy business specialising in GRACE (Governance, Risk, Advice, Compliance, Ethics), dedicated to helping directors navigate their way through the ever-changing GRACE landscape.

Additionally, Carrie has expertise in:

• Development and implementation of corporate governance frameworks including risk management, governance policies, compliance with reporting requirements and board evaluation

• Board member training on director duties and responsibilities and “best practice’ governance requirements

• Board meeting and board committee operation

• Development and implementation of risk management and compliance frameworks

• Implementation of business continuity management programmes including crisis management and response planning

• Implementation of compliance incident management and reporting system

• Policy governance including Codes of Conduct, AML, Bribery Act and Modern Slavery Act

• Implementation of a third-party compliance programme including due diligence, risk analysis and evaluation

• Development of compliance training programme to enhance levels of awareness

• Data Protection risk assessments, GDPR compliance, process reviews, drafting privacy notices and policies

• FCA Compliance including adherence to SMCR regime, GABRIEL reporting, creation of a FCA compliance policies, compliance manuals and delivery of Conduct Rule training

• Advising, drafting, and reviewing commercial arrangements across the following areas:

  • Advertising and marketing, agency agreements, sponsorship agreements

  • Director service agreements, consultancy agreements

  • Credit agreements, financial comfort, and funding arrangements, guarantees, lease and licence agreements

  • Confidentiality agreements, asset purchase agreements, share purchase agreements, JV agreements, shareholder agreements, commercial due diligence

  • Intellectual property protection, trademark registration

  • Supply and reseller agreements, supply of goods and services terms of business, distribution agreements, franchise agreements,

  • Software service agreements, software licenses, website compliance, online terms and conditions

 Read more about our corporate governance and commercial services offerings.

Frank has worked for ‘Big Four’ accountants and top UK law firms, advising a range of firms from startups to organisations at the heart of Britain’s financial market infrastructure. He has also acted as an s166 Skilled Person and is well versed in dealing with regulators.

When advising firms, Frank encourages clients to take a holistic view and recognise that risk crystallisation, regulatory breaches and failures to effectively execute strategy can be symptoms of root cause issues in the firm’s governance, culture, organisational structure and business model.

Robert also offers support to clients on a range of financial services compliance and UK GDPR matters.  As part of this role, he is a tutor for the Credit Services Association's level 6 apprenticeship in compliance and risk and has written guidance on behalf of the Money Advice Trust / UK Finance on vulnerability and GDPR.

 Robert is a law graduate with over 15 years of experience in financial services and has held both head of and director of compliance roles in the industry. 

During her time at several major UK finance companies, she has both created and held courses for new and existing laws, legislation, finance products and business processes.

Joanna will be delivering sessions as part of the Auxillias Academy and these will kick off with a selection of Consumer Duty workshops for staff of all levels in the industry.  The Academy, which has been in popular demand since the implementation of Consumer Duty, was launched in 2022 to give staff at all levels of an organisation the knowledge they need to operate successfully and compliantly

Read more about our training service offering.