The UKFIU has published the second issue of its useful magazine SARs In Action Aug 2019. This issue provides useful information for anyone involved in the reporting of SARs. It looks at the ‘life of a SAR’, examining the whole process of what happens when a reporter has a suspicion of money laundering, the subsequent submission of that SAR to the UKFIU, the checks that the UKFIU teams then conduct, and the onward availability of that financial intelligence to law enforcement including case studies illustrating the value of SARs information.   For further useful information published by the National Crime Agency click here.

The CCAB has published a supplementary AML Guidance for Tax Practitioners. This Guidance was approved by HM Treasury on 14 June 2019. This supplementary guidance is not standalone but should be read in conjunction with the CCAB AML Guidance for the Accountancy Sector. Who does this guidance apply to? The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 apply to a ‘tax adviser’ and defines a tax adviser as: ‘a firm or sole practitioner who by way of business provides advice about the tax affairs of other persons, when providing such services’.The meaning of ‘advice’ is widely interpreted – for example tax compliance services, i.e. assisting in the completion and submission of tax returns, are included within the term. Tax practitioners are within the scope of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 whilst they are providing tax services by way of business. They should exercise judgement in deciding whether the provision of tax services is by way of business. If a tax practitioner decides that a service is not by way of business, they should be prepared to explain the reasons for this opinion. CCAB AML Guidance for the Accountancy Sector CCAB Supplementary AML Guidance for Tax Practitioners

The Joint Insolvency Committee (JIC) has approved a revised version of Statement of Insolvency Practice SIP 6 which was introduced in April 2017 to coincide with the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 and updated effective 1 January 2018. The revised version has been amended only to remove reference to England and Wales in order that the SIP will also apply to corporate insolvency procedures for Scottish registered companies following the introduction of the Insolvency (Scotland) (Company Voluntary Arrangements and Administration) Rules 2018 and the Insolvency (Scotland) (Receivership and Winding Up) Rules 2018 (the 2018 Rules). The revised SIP 6 will replace the current version of SIP 6, effective 6 April 2019. Please note that the SIP does not apply in Northern Ireland and also does not apply to Scottish registered LLPs or special insolvency regimes. SIPs 8, 10 and 12 As a consequence of the introduction of the 2018 Rules, SIP 8 (Conduct of meetings of creditors held pursuant to s98 Insolvency Act 1986), SIP 10 (Proxy forms) and SIP 12 (Records of meetings) will be withdrawn from 6 April 2019 in respect of Scottish corporate insolvency procedures. SIPs 8, 10 and 12 will remain in force in respect of Scottish LLPs and special insolvency regimes which are not covered by the introduction of 2018 Rules and remain under the Insolvency (Scotland) Rules 1986 and other secondary legislation. Effective Date:  6 April 2019.

All regulatory fees for 2019 are due by 15 March 2019. If you have or are having any difficulty accessing the invoice(s), please contact Sandra Smiley in Professional Standards.

The Insolvency Service GB has issued a special edition of Dear IP concerning the introduction of the Insolvency Service’s new Case Management System (CMS). CMS is being rolled out initially to the agency’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), with the subsequent on boarding of its other operational areas, including the investigation & enforcement and official receiver teams, taking place within a timeframe of 12-18 months. The implementation of CMS will impact Insolvency Practitioners in two main ways. Firstly it will update and modernise the calculation of redundancy payments through automation, providing RPS with the ability to apply the latest tax and legislative rules - and any periodic changes thereto - in real time. Insolvency Practitioners and any agents they instruct to carry out redundancy payments may therefore want to study the details of the changes to redundancy payments to check that their own internal calculation models are ‘in sync’ with RPS’s, and for that reason this special edition necessarily deals with the ‘granular detail’ of the changes. To facilitate alignment going forward, the code for the calculation engine that has been developed to support and integrate with CMS has been made available as open source so that practitioners, Agents and their software providers can utilise their own version of the solution if they wish. Secondly, it has been decided to switch the RP14/A upload service away from the current RPS portal and route this process instead through the Director Conduct Return Service (DCRS). Again this will provide a more modern, more stable and more secure platform for those data transfers. As part of this change, DCRS will be re-named the Insolvency Practitioner Service (IPS). The method of uploading will not change. The only substantive change is that the DCRS platform will serve IPs for both director conduct returns and the submission of redundancy claims information, although there will be a simple, automated password re-set process to go through when users first log on to the updated service. Full instructions for using IPS will be published on the relevant GOV.UK web pages. Further information can be located  at Dear IP.

The FRC and BEIS has today (22nd February) published information for auditors and audit firms in the event of a ‘no-deal Brexit.  The Institute continues to engage with relevant authorities in the UK & Ireland on this issue and will continue to keep members and firms advised through the normal channels of communication.

Please be advised that all Regulatory Fee correspondence has now been issued, if you have not received an email please contact Sandra Smiley at sandra.smiley@charteredaccountants.ie

We would like to update you, our members, on information that has recently become available regarding audit registration status for those firms holding audit registration from Chartered Accountants Ireland (‘the Institute’) in the event of a ‘no-deal Brexit’.  At present, the audit regulatory framework that exists between the UK and Ireland is such that firms holding audit registration from the Institute are able to hold audit appointments in respect of both UK and Irish entities.  In simple terms, for example, this has enabled statutory audit firms ‘located’ in  Northern Ireland or Great Britain to audit Irish registered entities while statutory audit firms ‘located’ in Ireland have been able to audit UK-registered entities.   In recent weeks, both the UK and Ireland have provided further information in respect of the recognition of statutory audit firms post Brexit.  As regards the UK, the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (‘BEIS’) has confirmed that in the UK, the status quo will remain, deal or no-deal, at least until December 2020.    However, in late October the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (‘IAASA’) announced that, in the absence of any transitional arrangements that might be contained in any withdrawal agreement, and based on advice received from Ireland’s Attorney General, UK-based audit firms would no longer meet the eligibility criteria for approval as EU statutory auditors and therefore would not be entitled to hold audit appointments for Irish companies post Brexit.  After 29th March, therefore, UK-based auditors would be unable to sign audit reports on Irish entities and as such, will no longer be eligible for inclusion on the Irish audit register.   Irish company law does, of course, make provision for the recognition of statutory auditors from a ‘Third Country’, which is what the UK will become post-Brexit.  However, such recognition is subject to appropriate regulatory arrangements being established between Third Country jurisdictions and Ireland (IAASA) which would include equivalence/reciprocity regimes etc.  In spite of the existing arrangements essentially reflecting such a regime, formalising such new arrangements will take time and unlikely to meet the 29 March 2019 deadline.   While it is hoped that the above scenario can be avoided by virtue of appropriate transitional arrangements, I believe it is appropriate, and as counselled by IAASA, to advise those firms (UK-based) who may be impacted by the above to consider what action they may need to take as regards audit appointments of Irish companies they may have.   Specific issues firms will need to consider will include:   The need to make contingencies as regards the audits of Irish entities in the event of a no-deal Brexit – e.g. advising clients of this possibility and the logistics of the client identifying an alternative auditor located in Ireland; Whether it might be possible to undertake and complete statutory audits of Irish entities, including signing the audit reports before 29th March 2019, having due regard to audit quality;  Whether the audit firm has an office ‘located’ in Ireland to which the audit appointment might be reassigned, or whether within the network of which the audit firm might be a member, there is an Irish located firm to which the appointment might be transferred. Note that there is at present no clarity or certainty to this particular point.This is one of a number of matters that have been raised with regulatory bodies. Further information on the respective UK and Irish positions regarding statutory audit can be found:    Accounting and Audit if there is No-Brexit Deal; and IAASA Breakfast Briefing Summary  The Institute continues to engage with relevant regulatory bodies and Governments on this issue and related issues with a view to obtaining further clarifications and explanations.  In this regard, specifically, we have provided a series of questions and scenarios to IAASA. We shall keep you advised of additional information as it becomes known. You can read our key questions here.   While the above is likely to arise only in the event of no ‘withdrawal agreement’ between the UK and the EU, it is important that firms be aware of the possible outcomes if such occurs. If there is anyone with any queries or concerns, please contact Aidan Lambe, Director of Professional Standards, Chartered Accountants Ireland. Aidan.lambe@charteredaccountants.ie