Client money reconciliation and mandate control for investment firms
CASS 7 and CASS 8, run as a daily control — not a monthly scramble.
If your firm holds client money or operates client mandates under MiFID, the FCA’s client asset rules set a high bar. CASS 7 requires you to segregate client money, reconcile internally and externally, and remedy differences promptly. CASS 8 requires you to control and record the mandates that let you move a client’s money or assets held elsewhere. Both depend on accurate records and a clean, defensible trail.
Prism brings the same regulatory-grade control we built for safeguarding to investment-firm reconciliation: a single view of what is owed to clients against what is held, internal and external reconciliation, exceptions surfaced early, and evidence captured automatically.
Support for CASS 7 & 8 Coming Soon
What CASS 7 and CASS 8 ask of investment firms
CASS 7 governs client money. CASS 8 governs mandates. Both demand accurate records and regular reconciliation.
CASS 7
Client money rules
CASS 7 sets out how an investment firm must protect client money it holds, supporting the broader principle that a firm must arrange adequate protection for clients’ assets. In practice that means:
- Segregation of client money from the firm’s own money, in the right accounts.
- Internal client money reconciliation — comparing client-money records and balances against the firm’s cashbook.
- External client money reconciliation — comparing internal records against bank and third-party statements.
- Prompt correction of any shortfall or excess identified, with the reason understood and recorded.
- Accurate, complete books and records, and a clear record of breaches and how they were handled.
CASS 8
Mandates
CASS 8 applies where a firm holds, or can give instructions over, a client’s assets or a bank account held with a third party. It requires firms to keep proper records and internal controls over those mandates — what authority exists, over which accounts, and how instructions are controlled and evidenced.
Whether your firm is solo-regulated or dual-regulated, the operational reality is the same: the rules reward firms that can reconcile daily, evidence control and produce records on demand.
How Prism supports CASS 7 & CASS 8
1. A single view of client money: owed versus held
Prism consolidates client balances, internal records and the money actually held, so the firm can see what is owed to clients and whether held balances match continuously, not just at the reconciliation date.
2. Internal and external client money reconciliation
Prism runs the internal client money reconciliation (client-money records against the cashbook) and the external reconciliation (internal records against bank and third-party statements), with breaks surfaced the same day. Records can be ingested by file, template or API.
3. Segregation and exception discipline
Configurable rules flag where balances do not match, where segregation looks wrong, or where a movement breaches a threshold — so the team works the exceptions rather than hunting for them. Each break carries an owner, a severity, a deadline and an evidence trail through to sign-off.
4. Mandate records and control (CASS 8)
Prism’s account governance and audit-log capability provides a structured place to hold mandate-related records, which accounts, what authority, supporting documentation and a timestamped log of set-up and changes — supporting the books-and-records and internal-control expectations of CASS 8.
5. Audit-ready evidence, sign-off and oversight
Every reconciliation, action and sign-off is captured, timestamped and attributable, with role-based access and multi-tier sign-off. Senior managers get a current view through dashboards, and CASS audit preparation becomes a matter of retrieval rather than reconstruction.
Client money is a daily control.
Prism makes it a defensible one
Coming soon: See how Prism can strengthen your CASS 7 client money reconciliation, CASS 8 mandate records and audit evidence.
Frequently asked questions
What is CASS 7?
CASS 7 is the client money chapter of the FCA’s Client Assets Sourcebook. It sets out how investment firms must segregate, hold, reconcile and protect client money, including daily internal and external reconciliations and prompt correction of differences.
What is CASS 8?
CASS 8 is the mandates chapter of the Client Assets Sourcebook. It applies when a firm holds, or can give instructions over, a client’s money or assets held with a third party, and requires proper records and internal controls over those mandates.
Does Prism support both internal and external client money reconciliation?
Yes. Prism reconciles client-money records against the firm’s cashbook internally, and against bank and third-party statements externally, surfacing breaks the same day.
Can Prism help solo-regulated and dual-regulated firms?
Yes. The reconciliation, exception, evidence and oversight capabilities apply to both, and Prism can keep reconciliations for different regimes or business lines separate while giving leadership a single view.
Does Prism help with CASS audit?
Prism captures timestamped, attributable evidence of reconciliations, actions and sign-offs and stores supporting records, which supports CASS audit preparation and internal governance.