The Association of Professional Financial Advisers has called on advice firms to help them to hold the FCA to account.

The organisation wants to hear from businesses about the cost of regulation and has launched a survey to aid in its attempts to assess the burden on the sector.

The trade association said that such data was vital in fight to fight for a “fair deal” for advisers.

The annual consultation will feed into the ‘Cost of Regulation Index’ that it compiles for the sector.

Previous APFA research found that in 2014:

• Smaller firms spent on average 12% of their income on direct and indirect regulatory costs

• 3% of this was spent on direct fees and levies, with 9% on indirect costs.

• This meant that in total the sector spent an estimated £475million on regulation

• The average client paying approximately £160 per year towards the cost of FCA rules and requirements.

Chris Hannant, APFA director general, said: “At a time when the advice community needs to fight for a fair deal from the UK-EU Brexit negotiations and as the FCA and Treasury implement the FAMR recommendations, it is more important than ever that we have the up-to-date information needed to hold the FCA to account.”

He said: “Last year’s survey showed that advisers spend a significant amount of their income on complying with the many rules and regulations imposed upon them. This cost burden gets passed onto clients through higher fees, further widening the advice gap that the government’s Financial Advice Market Review aims to reduce.

“Although the survey itself takes a very short time to complete, we appreciate that people will need to collect the information required for the survey. However, we strongly urge the industry to take part and help us continue to lobby for a better regulatory deal for advisers.”

See the APFA website for details on taking part in the survey.