December’s update from the ICAEW Professional Standards Department includes information about the upcoming Probate Diversity Survey webinar, the recently published Audit Monitoring Report 2021-22 and the new UK Audit Regulations and Guidance, effective from 05 December 2022. Also please continue to visit the various sections under Regulation on the ICAEW website to stay up to date with all the latest regulatory-related guidance. 

Anti-Money Laundering (AML)

AML – the essentials, issue 26
The latest AML update is available. Please share with those who have anti-money laundering responsibilities in your firm. It includes a reminder about the range of AML resources that are available including our AML helpline.

AASG Anti-money laundering alert – Register of Overseas Entities & verification work

An alert is available that documents key risks that firms should be aware of when completing verification work in relation to the registration of overseas entities. Firms should use this alert to support their staff training. 

New suspicious activity reports (SARs) portal

Watch this UKFIU webinar that showcases the new suspicious activity reporting portal.

AML Sanctions Thematic Review – now available

Read about key findings on sanctions to benchmark your firm’s policies and procedures for screening clients and to assess the level of risk to which your firm may be exposed. Be sure to view the webcast where Michelle Giddings, Head of AML at ICAEW, takes you through the objectives of the review, found on the Sanctions Thematic Review 2022 webpage. For added convenience, all AML thematic reviews can be found in one place.

AMLbites: refresh your knowledge

The AMLbites video series covers a range of popular anti-money laundering (AML) topics that can be shared with colleagues as part of staff training. 

Reminder about anonymous reporting for AML concerns

Contact the AML team anonymously if you think an ICAEW-supervised firm is breaching the Money Laundering Regulations.

Advice from AML team for money laundering reporting officers (MLROs)

The role of money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) can be daunting, and it isn’t always clear what’s required. Hear from ICAEW’s AML supervisory team about the importance of an open culture and the skillset needed to do the job effectively.

Audit

Audit News issue: 72 November 2022
Audit News 72 is the regulatory update containing the latest technical guidance and best practice advice.

Which audit form and when?

Reminder to firms about newly updated guidance notes on which form is best to use for audit applications.

New UK Audit Regulations
New UK Audit Regulations and Guidance are now in effect (from 5 December 2022). The regulations primarily take account of the new registration arrangements with the FRC for firms that audit PIE entities.

• Read the full regulations
• Read a summary of the changes

Quality management in audit firms

A variety of resources are available to help audit firms prepare for new quality management standards ISQM 1, ISQM 2 and ISA 220 (Revised).

Matters of Material Significance reportable to UK charity regulators

Timely reporting enables regulators to gather intelligence which they use to identify the incidence of reportable matters within the sector, ensuring that public confidence and trust in charities is maintained.

Probate

Probate News issue 20 – November 2022
In Issue 20 of Probate News, read about a compliance issue the Quality Assurance Department (QAD) is finding during monitoring reviews, preparing for the next probate diversity survey and what resources for probate firms are available.

2023 probate diversity survey webinar

The next probate diversity survey will take place in Spring 2023. Data collection should occur as near 31 March 2023 as firms can manage and submission to ICAEW needs to be by 30 April 2023. To help your firm prepare, this webinar, on 1 February 2023, will include a demonstration of the free survey tool and the opportunity to ask questions about the updated process.

DPB (Investment Business)

Support for DPB-licensed firms

Read more and access all the latest guidance including webinars, helpsheets and articles applicable to investment business activity.

Training films and resources

All Too Familiar

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus screened ICAEW’s AML training film, All Too Familiar, produced in collaboration with HMRC. 

Quality assurance monitoring reports

To ensure firms have the tools and resources to help maintain expected standards, annual monitoring reports are an important resource for firms regulated by ICAEW. Available in one place, the latest reports are also available on their own page under Regulation.

• The Insolvency Monitoring Report
• The Practice Assurance Monitoring Report
• The AML Monitoring Report
• The Audit Monitoring Report

Regulatory areas of responsibility

There are a series of articles offering insights, advice and tips from the Quality Assurance and Regulatory Practice teams to help navigate the processes and common pitfalls for regulated practices.

All things regulatory…

2023 fee renewal notices

Fees for regulated areas and affiliates are due soon. Emails sent to remind firms that payment is due by 1 January.

Quality Assurance review

We’d encourage firms to take a few minutes to complete this anonymous feedback survey about quality assurance.

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