Compliance
Singapore Accountants Face Tighter Money Laundering, Anti-Terror Finance Rules
Singapore-based accountants will soon have a new set of obligations to meet for the controls and procedures they must install to combat money laundering and terrorism finance.
Singapore-based accountants will soon have a new set of
obligations to meet for the controls and procedures they must
install to combat money laundering and terrorism finance.
Enhanced mandatory requirements come in the form of the new
Ethics Pronouncement 200, taking effect from 1 November.
The new rules have been released by Institute of Singapore
Chartered Accountants and are designed to fit with the
international best practices and the latest Financial Action Task
Force Recommendations. (FATF is an intergovernmental group
designed to co-ordinate measures against money launderers and
other transfers of illicit money.)
Besides reiterating statutory responsibilities of all
professional accountants to report suspicious transactions, the
new pronouncement includes enhancements on: requirements for
accounting entities to have the systems and controls in place to
address money laundering and terrorism finance concerns;
requirements for public accountants and accounting entities to
have specific customer due diligence and records keeping measures
when providing certain services; and recommendations on reporting
procedures, training, compliance, hiring and audit.
The measures are designed to fight money launderers and others
involved in financial crimes at a time when such activity is
becoming more sophisticated, ISCA said in a statement.
At present all professional accountants must report suspicious
transactions and must also follow guidelines issued by ISCA that
detail similar AML and CFT obligations. On top of this, they must
adhere to a code of conduct and ethics for public accountants and
accounting entities under the Accountants Act in Singapore.
Although the pronouncement takes effect from 1 November, certain
sections will only come into force from 1 May 2015 to allow time
for the accountancy sector to implement the new controls and
procedures.