Compliance consultants will set up a forum to monitor the profession's standards and help brokers obtain professional indemnity (PI) insurance.

The move has been driven by the FSA which has become concerned about the "proliferation" of compliance consultants.

As a result, a steering group has been formed, chaired by the FSA and comprising a number of consultants.

The steering group will then progress the creation of a consultants' forum. This would be separate from the FSA.

Gary Dixon, managing director of Compliance Solutions and member of the steering group, said that he wanted the forum to be a "fair trade association" to monitor standards and "make the compliance industry a profession".

He also said he had been talking to insurers about a "kite-mark" for the industry to denote consultants of a high standard.

Insurers could give better rates to those using kite-marked consultants, he said.