by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | May 19, 2023 | News
One of the biggest problems that people face is that the legislation, which is the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts 2010 to 2021, does not define the term ‘suspicion’.
When it comes to reporting people that they think may be suspicious they feel that they’re not quite certain whether what they’re feeling is actually a suspicion. The very nature of a suspicion is that it is an emotion and therefore very personal, and it can be difficult to give any hard definitions of the word.
It may be helpful to look at a spectrum of potential definitions of the word, which may range in order of certainty from:
- Curiosity
- Unease
- Doubt
- Concern
- Suspicion
- Belief
- Knowledge
One should also be careful to remember that thanks to the personal nature of suspicion, it doesn’t have to be shared. So just because person X is suspicious doesn’t mean that person Y should also be. And just because person Y is not suspicious doesn’t mean that person A should not be.
For example, you might be uneasy about something that a client does, and so you discuss it with a colleague. The tipping-off offence does not necessarily stop you doing this because it’s only relevant once you know or suspect that a report of money laundering suspicion has been made, and if you do not know or suspect this, you cannot tip off.
After the chat with your colleague, you find that you have now moved up the scale from unease to suspicion. Your colleague, on the other hand, is not worried. It would be very foolish, not to say potentially criminal, of you not to report your suspicion on the basis that your colleague is not suspicious.
You should have confidence in your own interpretation of a situation and not be put off taking the correct action just because no one else seems to share your concerns.
Having a suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing and not reporting it is a serious offence. The legal obligation is quite simple: if you’re suspicious, you must make a report to your MLRO.
‘if you’re suspicious, you must make a report to your MLRO*’
(From the book ‘Anti-Money Laundering – What You Need to Know UK Banking Edition’ by Susan Grossey (Thinking About Crime Ltd.)’
Please go to our website to see our new ISQM TOOLKIT or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard, please contact John McCarthy FCA by e-mail at john@jmcc.ie.
We typically tailor training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements.
Publications and AML webinars:
- The ISQM TOOLKIT 2022 is available to purchase here.
- See our latest Anti-Money Laundering Policies Controls & Procedures Manual (March 2022) – View the Table of Contents click here.
- Also we have an updated AML webinar (March 2022) available here, which accompanies the AML Manual. It explains the current legal AML reporting position for accountancy firms and includes a quiz. Upon completion, you receive a CPD Certificate of attendance in your inbox.
- To ensure your letters of engagement and similar templates are up to date visit our site here where immediate downloads are available in Word format. A bulk discount is available for orders of five or more items if bought together.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | May 6, 2023 | News
It is often difficult to verify the authenticity of client identity documents for anti-money laundering purposes. This becomes even more difficult when the client concerned lives overseas.
Did you know that the European Union has created a website called the ‘Public Register of Authentic Identity and Travel Documents Online’ (PRADO)? The website allows one to check examples of identification documents specific to different countries around the world.
The site contains screenshots of documents such as passports and driving licences specific to different countries and gives you an idea of what you are looking at and whether it is a valid document for that country.
The link to PRADO is here.
Please go to our website to see our new ISQM TOOLKIT or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard, please contact John McCarthy FCA by e-mail at john@jmcc.ie.
We typically tailor training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements.
Publications and AML webinars:
- The ISQM TOOLKIT 2022 is available to purchase here.
- See our latest Anti-Money Laundering Policies Controls & Procedures Manual (March 2022) – View the Table of Contents click here.
- Also we have an updated AML webinar (March 2022) available here, which accompanies the AML Manual. It explains the current legal AML reporting position for accountancy firms and includes a quiz. Upon completion, you receive a CPD Certificate of attendance in your inbox.
- To ensure your letters of engagement and similar templates are up to date visit our site here where immediate downloads are available in Word format. A bulk discount is available for orders of five or more items if bought together.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Apr 28, 2023 | News
Following on from our earlier blogs on 11 April and 18 April about the introduction of the new Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2023, we thought that a worked example about the transition to the new rules, would be helpful.
The existing Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2014 remain applicable for any accounting period that commenced before 1 July 2023, until such time as the solicitor has filed the Reporting Accountant’s report with the Law Society. The full text of the Regulations is here.
The 2023 Regulations apply for accounting periods commencing on/after 1 July 2023. Let’s take two practical examples to clarify the position:
Law Firm Client with YE 30/4/2023 – apply the existing 2014 regulations for the full financial year to 30/4/2023 because the 2023 regulations don’t commence until 1 July 2023.
Apply the 2023 regulations from the accounting period starting on 1 May 2024 for this client, with the first quarterly test being on 31 July 2024.
Law Firm Client with YE 31/12/2023 – the existing 2014 Regulations apply for the full financial year 2023 and the new 2023 Regulations apply to this client from 1 January 2024 with the first quarterly reconciliation happening on 31 March 2024.
Please go to our website to see our new ISQM TOOLKIT or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard, please contact John McCarthy FCA by e-mail at john@jmcc.ie.
We typically tailor training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements.
Publications and AML webinars:
- The ISQM TOOLKIT 2022 is available to purchase here.
- See our latest Anti-Money Laundering Policies Controls & Procedures Manual (March 2022) – View the Table of Contents click here.
- Also we have an updated AML webinar (March 2022) available here, which accompanies the AML Manual. It explains the current legal AML reporting position for accountancy firms and includes a quiz. Upon completion, you receive a CPD Certificate of attendance in your inbox.
- To ensure your letters of engagement and similar templates are up to date visit our site here where immediate downloads are available in Word format. A bulk discount is available for orders of five or more items if bought together.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Apr 7, 2023 | News
Following on from last week’s blog about the introduction of the new Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2023, it’s worth bearing in mind that the existing Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2014 remain applicable for any accounting period that commenced before 1 July 2023, until such time as the solicitor has filed the Reporting Accountant’s report with the Law Society.
Here is a list of some of the changing and new requirements for the accounting by solicitors:
- Balancing statements must be prepared quarterly for client-account transactions;
- A list of client ledger balances outstanding for two years or more must be prepared at the accounting date, and given to the Law Society by the Reporting Accountant;
- A separate client bank account is no longer needed where a solicitor is acting as the personal representative of an estate;
- Client ledger balances must be reviewed for undue/unnecessary delays in discharging client moneys. Immediate action must be taken to clear same, where appropriate;
- Clients are to be given a statement of account for each matter;
- Client moneys are to be returned to clients when the legal service is completed;
- Evidence of payments in cash must include the witnessed signature of the recipient;
- Transfers of funds from the ‘client’ to the ‘office’ account must be for specific clients;
- The Law Society must be notified where a deficit cannot be rectified within seven days of the deficit coming to the solicitor’s attention;
- Cheque signatories or transaction authorisers on the client account are to include a solicitor who is a partner or a sole practitioner with a current practising certificate;
- A ‘Register of Undertakings’ and of ‘Funds Held On Joint Deposit’ are to be maintained;
- A file of documents or record for electronic transfers must be maintained;
- The Compliance Partner is to provide specific confirmation to the Law Society, through the ‘Form of Acknowledgement’, of compliance with the regulations in respect of:
- balancing statements;
- balances outstanding two years or more;
- review of client-ledger balances for undue or unnecessary delays; and
- back-up of computerised accounting systems.
- Borrowing/lending/organising loans from/to Client Accounts are prohibited, as are loans between Client Accounts;
- Client accounts must not hold moneys other than for the legal services provided;
- Client accounts are not to be used to hold/pass through, solicitors’ personal moneys;
- Responsibility for breach of the regulations extends to the solicitor responsible for the actual breach, and not just the principal or partners of the firm;
- The Law Society may conduct investigations remotely;
- The Law Society may instruct an authorised person to communicate with such persons and seek such information and documentation as the Society considers necessary.
The full text of the Regulations is here.
Please go to our website to see our new ISQM TOOLKIT or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard, please contact John McCarthy FCA by e-mail at john@jmcc.ie.
We typically tailor training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements.
Publications and AML webinars:
- The ISQM TOOLKIT 2022 is available to purchase here.
- See our latest Anti-Money Laundering Policies Controls & Procedures Manual (March 2022) – View the Table of Contents click here.
- Also we have an updated AML webinar (March 2022) available here, which accompanies the AML Manual. It explains the current legal AML reporting position for accountancy firms and includes a quiz. Upon completion, you receive a CPD Certificate of attendance in your inbox.
- To ensure your letters of engagement and similar templates are up to date visit our site here where immediate downloads are available in Word format. A bulk discount is available for orders of five or more items if bought together.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Apr 5, 2023 | News
The Law Society of Ireland has introduced new Solicitors Accounts Regulations 2023 which will come into operation on 1 July 2023. Among the changes, there are new requirements for reporting accountants.
From 1 July 2023 reporting accountants must:
- Examine Balancing Statements prepared at quarterly intervals in respect of client-account transactions (currently these are examined at six monthly intervals);
- File reports within five months of the accounting date;
- Test-check that withdrawals of fees are notified to the clients;
- Test-check postings before and after the accounting date;
- File the Closing Reporting Accountant’s Reports within three months of cessation;
- Provide reasons for the withdrawal of approval of a Reporting Accountant;
- Report, directly to the Law Society, an opinion or a suspicion of a deficit, rather than waiting to submit an annual report; and
- Provide to the Law Society a list of any client ledger balances outstanding for two years or more prepared as at the accounting date.
The full text of the Regulations is here.
Please go to our website to see our new ISQM TOOLKIT or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard, please contact John McCarthy FCA by e-mail at john@jmcc.ie.
We typically tailor training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements.
Publications and AML webinars:
- The ISQM TOOLKIT 2022 is available to purchase here.
- See our latest Anti-Money Laundering Policies Controls & Procedures Manual (March 2022) – View the Table of Contents click here.
- Also we have an updated AML webinar (March 2022) available here, which accompanies the AML Manual. It explains the current legal AML reporting position for accountancy firms and includes a quiz. Upon completion, you receive a CPD Certificate of attendance in your inbox.
- To ensure your letters of engagement and similar templates are up to date visit our site here where immediate downloads are available in Word format. A bulk discount is available for orders of five or more items if bought together.
