Senator McDowell raised questions in regard to the levies and to whether funding can be achieved in a fair and equitable manner. He also inquired about how the levy system will operate. This is a matter to which the expert group gave much consideration. The first view it expressed was that if a system was to be developed which would be simple and generally acceptable to the industry, it would mean developing a formula for allocating the costs of regulation on an annual basis between the regulated entities. Clearly, this would have to be proportionate. The group felt that this could be achieved by devising a charging structure which would be based on a range of factors. These include the size of the firm's assets, the number of clients, the amount of funds under the firm's control, the value of new business in any one year and the value of commission payments and fee income, or a combination of these factors. A simpler approach could be adopted using factors such as the number of principals and employees in a firm.