The Association of Professional Financial Advisers (APFA) has asked for the regulator's budget to be frozen for three years, so it can provide a cut in real terms.
In a letter to the watchdog, sent today, the trade body demanded more commitment from the regulator than just a promise that it would provide value for money.
APFA director general Chris Hannant (pictured) asked for a freezing of the FCA's budget for at least three years to provide a cut in real terms.
He wrote:"As stated in our response to the consultation paper on FCA's fees, we believe the FCA should make a more substantive commitment than that contained in the consultation paper (that it will improve the value for money of the services it provides to stakeholders).
"We would therefore support the FCA fixing its budget for a given period, say three years, and that it should decrease or be level in cash terms, to provide a cut in real terms."
Hannant also demanded that the FCA take into account the costs of section 166 investigations paid for by firms.
"If these amounts are not included, the true cost of regulation is understated and it is not possible to fully understand and monitor the total being paid by the industry," he wrote.
APFA proposed to change the way the FCA calculates fees to one based on the income of firms, rather than the fee block system the regulator currently uses.
This would provide a straight forward link between the size of an organisation and its share of the FCA bill while also requiring less administration within the FCA and therefore cost less, explained Hannant.
He wrote: "We recognise that a disadvantage of not segmenting firms is that arguably there is no way of recognising that some sectors are higher risk than others and thus subject to more regulatory effort.
"However, given that the current method, despite the best efforts of FCA to allocate costs appropriately, results in a flawed outcome, we do not see any merit in persevering with it."
However, the minimum fee block, set at £1,000 and with a £100,000 threshold for intermediaries should be retained, Hannant said.
