OPIS and Coal, Metals and Mining, world leaders in critical information, analytics and solutions, are pleased to announce that they have successfully completed a joint IOSCO assurance review—OPIS for its commodity, energy, renewables benchmarks for the ninth year and CMM for its McCloskey coal benchmarks for the seventh year—in accordance with the IOSCO Principles for Oils Price Reporting.
OPIS and CMM sit in the Energy and Natural Resources division of IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, and have their benchmarks administrated by IHS Markit Benchmark Administration Limited (IMBA). IMBA is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as a benchmark administrator.
OPIS and CMM decided to combine their assurance responses to a single report for the first time this year under the 2021 assurance review, demonstrating their continued commitment to the IOSCO Principles and its robust compliance framework and controls.
The 2021 report includes the OPIS and CMM management responses to show how each business satisfies the IOSCO Principles. Describing the policies, processes and control activities governing the assessment process for the creation of commodity benchmarks. The report includes the findings of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), which independently reviewed and tested those responses for both businesses.
“Whilst this last year continued to be a challenge to many around the world navigating the on-going global pandemic, we are proud to successfully complete our ninth assurance review against IOSCO principles,” said Steve Tan, vice president, strategic content, OPIS.
“This has been possible due to a clear commitment to ensure we keep our customers and the markets informed and that we are at the forefront of providing transparency, by having a consistent focus on ensuring the price discovery process is robust and providing timely, up-to-date accurate and reliable benchmarks and market information,” said Tan. “All are a testament to the strength and quality of the teams that work within both OPIS and CMM.”
“We are encouraged to know that the compliance frameworks and processes we have implemented, in accordance with the IOSCO Principles, continue to stand firm against challenging times,” added John Howland, vice president, CMM. “Our ability to pivot and adapt ensures that there is no disruption to our businesses. As we deliver high quality data and solutions to our stakeholders, we continuously strive for excellence and make improvements in workflows to meet our commitment to our stakeholders to provide the McCloskey benchmarks in a fair and transparent manner.”