The securities industry should be preparing for the transition to shorter settlement cycles in the fall of 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) says in a staff notice published Thursday.

Earlier this week the CSA sent a letter to Canadian firms regarding the planned move to T + 2 (trade date plus two days) settlement. The letter aims to alert firms to the plan to adopt T+2 settlement on Sept. 5, 2017, on the same timeline at the U.S. capital markets, the CSA staff notice says.

The letter also highlights the role of the Canadian Capital Markets Association (CCMA) in leading the Canadian securities industry’s move to T+2. To that end, the CCMA is charged with identifying required operational improvements and rule changes, gaining industry agreement on standards, and planning industry-wide testing, to ensure overall industry readiness for the transition.

“Different organizations participating in the securities industry in Canada must work in a co-ordinated fashion to ensure a successful transition to a T+2 settlement cycle at the same time as the United States,” the CSA says in its letter to firms.

“Registrants and other capital market stakeholders will need to assess all of the potential impacts of a transition to a T+2 settlement cycle, including examining how their systems and processes for settling trades should be changed to support their clients, as well as their role in maintaining the integrity of the clearing and settlement system of Canada’s capital markets,” the letter adds.

The CSA is calling on firms that are not already engaged in this process to consult the CCMA’s website for information about the initiative. It also notes that a CSA committee has been formed to recommend regulatory proposals in relation to T+2, which may be published for consultation this summer.