Does your firm have the right insurance cover for cyber risks?
Changes to ICAEW’s minimum approved wording for Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) have clarified the extent to which policies cover cyber-related claims. What do the changes mean, how are cyber risks evolving and what can you do to ensure your firm has the right protection?
BEIS White Paper response: a lack of evidence that current regulatory arrangements are not working
The ICAEW Regulatory Board (IRB) submitted an extensive response to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) White Paper on corporate governance and audit reform. In the response, which is the first time the board has replied in its own right to a government consultation, it debunks some myths about current oversight of the accountancy profession and puts the case for continuing its role within the reformed regulatory infrastructure.
Open consultations
We are offering our regulated firms and insolvency practitioners the opportunity to respond to an increasing number of consultations on a range of matters. Find out further information about open and closed consultations as well as responses to consultations. We invite you to respond to the following consultations if applicable to your area of work:
- Consultation: Statement of Insolvency Practice 3.1
- Consultation: ICAEW reserved legal services strategy
- Consultation: mandating transparency disclosures through regulation
SARs reporting: emerging threats
In the rapidly changing landscape of economic crime, new risks are emerging all the time. In the second part of our interview with Martin Cox of the UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU), we talk about COVID-19, Fintech, cryptoassets and human trafficking.
Anti-money laundering webinars
In case you missed it, watch the recording of our second anti-money laundering webinar focusing on when you would need to submit against a Defence Against Money Laundering and what constitutes ‘tipping off’.
The third webinar in our series aimed at money laundering reporting officers and compliance principals, will focus on client due diligence. The event takes place on 20 October at 11am. Find out more and register.
Update to the annual return
The annual return has been updated. New guidance notes and updated FAQs are available. The changes can be reviewed in this schedule of amendments and relate to the revocation of our Irish recognised accountancy body status, as well as some other small amendments and some clarifications to questions relating to voting rights.
Changes to your firm structure
We would like to remind you that you must tell us about changes to your firm record within 10 business days. It is a breach of the Practice Assurance Regulations to use the annual return to inform us of changes.
Regulatory fees 2022: please look out for our email
This year we will email the details of your regulatory fee renewals to the relevant compliance principal, instead of posting hard copies to your firm address.
Please look out for our email and pass it onto your accounts team.
Changes to the minimum approved policy wording
Following a consultation process earlier in the year, we have made changes to the minimum approved policy wording. The changes clarify the extent of cover for cyber-related insurance claims and took effect on 1 September.
The return to onsite reviews
The Quality Assurance Department resumed onsite monitoring reviews at the start of this month. If your firm is due a review this Autumn, here is where you can access further information on what to expect.
Insolvency practitioner updates
There are a number of updates this month for insolvency practitioners including new HMRC bulletins, updates to SIPs 13 and 16 (Northern Ireland), an FCA update and new Defence Against Money Laundering guidance. We encourage you to follow the ICAEW Regulation and Conduct LinkedIn page for the latest information, or you can read the latest issues of Insolvency News and access web resources through icaew.com/talkinsolvency.
Disciplinary update
As usual, we strongly recommend that you familiarise yourself with the latest disciplinary cases to ensure your firm isn’t making any of the common mistakes that we see.
This month’s update contains a variety of cases including a breach of the Code of Ethics which resulted in a £2,500 fine, a failure to document risk assessments and client due diligence, and a failure to comply with Clients’ Money Regulations resulting in a £7,200 fine and three fixed penalties of £700 for engaging in public practice without a practising certificate.
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