by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Jun 5, 2019 | Blog, News
As we wrote in a recent blog on the topic of AML supervision, the report by OPBAS – the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision slates the accountancy and legal professions for lax regulation of their sectors.
Although this is a UK regulator , its views are influential with regulators elsewhere. For accountants there is likely to be a tougher enforcement approach taken in future as a result of this stinging report. OPBAS found that in 2018, only half of professional bodies issued fines for AML failings. It was even less in 2017 at 27%.
OPBAS has called for the Professional Body Supervisors (PBSs) to share information as a way of cracking down on covert activity. Almost half of the 22 bodies do that now, but OPBAS called for 100% cooperation by all bodies.
Some professional bodies have no resources allocated to intelligence sharing while others have no clear responsibilities or systematic approach to using intelligence to inform decisions or supervisory and enforcement work. There was also evidence that suspicious activity reports had not been raised by the PBSs when they should have been.
OPBAS has called on all PBSs to undertake risk-based supervision of the professions i.e. focused on the riskiest types of business or clients like tax, conveyancing, company formation. The watchdog says this must be properly resourced, with leadership from the top, and robust enforcement outcomes, along with a positive uptake in intelligence sharing.
Read that full OPBAS report here. To get prepared for the more robust AML visits that are surely coming see our latest Anti-Money Money Laundering blog here.
Also watch out for our new fully updated AML Policies & Procedures Manual coming in June 2019 – fully updated for the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts, 2010 to 2018 which came into force on 26 November 2018.
For on-demand webinars on AML and developments in Investment Property Accounting, FRS 105, Common Errors in FRS 102 Accounting and the latest on FRS 105 and company law, visit our online webinar training website. Once viewing is completed customers will receive a CPD Certificate confirming their learning.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | May 29, 2019 | News
In a recent UK report by OPBAS – the Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision it accuses many professional body supervisors (PBSs) of failing to supervise standards robustly, partly for fear of upsetting members and because they believe money laundering is not an issue for firms.
This is the first review by OPBAS of the 22 anti-money laundering (AML) supervisors in accountancy and law, which says the results show ‘a very variable picture’.
The OPBAS view is that the accountancy sector and many smaller professional bodies focus more on representing their members rather than robustly supervising standards. OPBAS say that this because they don’t believe – or don’t want to believe – that there is any money laundering in their sector.
There will be more on the report in future blogs. Read that full report here.
Also watch out for our new fully updated AML Policies & Procedures Manual coming in June 2019 – fully updated for the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts, 2010 to 2018 which came into force on 26 November 2018.
For on-demand webinars on AML and developments in Investment Property Accounting, FRS 105, Common Errors in FRS 102 Accounting and the latest on FRS 105 and company law, visit our online webinar training website. Once viewing is completed customers will receive a CPD Certificate confirming their learning.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | May 14, 2019 | Blog, News
Revaluation gains on tangible fixed assets go through the Profit & Loss Account. True or False? The answer is ‘False’.
To find out where revaluation gains on tangible fixed assets are presented, see our webinar called ‘Common Errors in FRS 102 Accounting’ where you may download the slides and support materials, all for just €45. On successful completion, receive a CPD certificate for your newly acquired knowledge. Well done!
The webinar, is 51 minutes long, and may be viewed anytime for up to a year from date of purchase, covers the following key areas, among others:
- Directors’ loans – the new rules on amortisation since 1 January 2019;
- Investment property revaluations;
- Statement of Changes in Equity (SoCE);
- Tangible fixed assets revaluations;
- Depreciation not charged;
- Going concern and break-up;
- Deferred tax gone missing;
- Areas of judgement and estimation uncertainty;
- Turnover accounting policy;
- Stocks/inventory accounting policy; and
- Disclosing the functional currency.
There are 18 other webinars on various topics – also for €45 each, or you may purchase two at the same time for €80 or five for €190.
All our webinars are accessible at any time (for 12 months from date of purchase) here.
We have also prepared, ready to use, several engagement and representation letter templates (in Word format) for many types of assignment, which help reduce misunderstandings about engagement scope and liability. These are available to purchase online (bulk purchases of 5 or more templates attract a 20% discount), please click on the relevant links.
Our latest additions may be of interest to you:
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Apr 7, 2019 | Blog, News
Is the following statement True or False? The exemption thresholds for audit exemption changed with effect from 21 September 2018 when the Companies (Statutory Audits) Act, 2018 came into effect.
In our webinar entitled ‘Audit Exemption – What are the New Rules?’, we cover the main changes brought about since the advent of the Companies Act, 2014 including:
- The new thresholds for ‘small’ companies and certain ‘small’ groups
- Changes since 21 September 2018?
- Miscellaneous Technical Statement 41 on compilation assignments
- Engagement/representation letters – suitable audit exemption templates available on our website here
- Procedures and Planning
- Accountant’s report
- Resignation issues and voluntary audit
For the answer to the quiz question above and other similar questions on the Audit Exemption, go to our website and download the webinar on this topic for just €45. On successful completion, receive a CPD certificate for your newly acquired knowledge. Well done!
There are 18 other webinars on various topics – also for €45 each, or you may purchase two at the same time for €80 or 5 for €190.
All our webinars are accessible at any time (for 12 months from date of purchase) here.
For the following, ready to use, audit exemption engagement and representation letters (in Word) available to purchase online (bulk purchases of 5 or ore templates attract a 20% discount), please click on the relevant links:
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Mar 29, 2019 | Blog, News
Most gains/losses should normally pass through profit or loss (Income Statement), unless they are required or permitted to pass directly through reserves.
Those items likely to be shown in Other Comprehensive Income or the separate Statement of Comprehensive Income include:
- unrealised surplus/deficit on revaluations, other than investment property;
- currency translation differences, other than trading transactions, which are taken directly to reserves (usually arise in consolidated accounts).
The tax effect of any gains/losses must be shown for each item of Other Comprehensive Income, either separately on the face of the primary Income Statement and in the taxation notes to the financial statements.
For more on Common Errors that often arise in FRS 102 Accounting – see our webinar called Common Errors in FRS 102 Accounting
All our webinars are accessible at any time (for 12 months from date of purchase) here.
