COMPLIANCE
Navigating the compliance network Ian Waters explains why compliance is important to AIA and its members, and how to better understand the various requirements’. Ian Waters Compliance for Accountants Ltd
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n accountancy practice, when we refer to compliance, we often mean the billable work that enables our clients to comply – in the areas of tax and financial reporting, in particular. But forget that for the purpose of this article. I’m talking about the compliance obligations that you have as an accountant in practice, including those obligations you have as a practising AIA member. In this context, I suspect that ‘compliance’ is not a subject that gets you out of bed and enthusiastically into your office each morning. It is often seen as the necessary evil that should absorb as little of your time as possible. I wouldn’t completely disagree with you. However, as a member of a professional body, if you cannot easily embrace the need to comply with laws and regulations, perhaps we can agree on the value provided by being seen to be regulated – and seen to be compliant.
Why should I embrace compliance?
Even an accountant in public practice who is not a member of a professional body must comply with the law. One of the areas of law that often springs to mind is that of anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. In the UK, for example, even an accountancy practice that is not supervised by a professional body supervisor, such as AIA, will be required to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations, the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, etc., and will be
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supervised for compliance by HMRC. We must all comply with the law, and perhaps compliance is easier for a practising accountant who has a professional body to support them in doing so. Some accountants in practice will be subject to statutory regulation where they are authorised to perform work in areas such as audit, insolvency or financial services. Although AIA does not supervise its members in these areas, some members are likely to work in firms that are subject to statutory regulation. Compliance with the law and statutory regulation may be regarded as a minimum level of compliance: the same rules apply to everyone and have been developed following public consultation and detailed scrutiny. This enhances public confidence and meets the basic expectations of stakeholders – often to remedy a specific concern that has arisen. For example, we might recall that there was once a time when auditing standards and guidance were drafted by the professional bodies. No wonder the profession is often referred to as ‘self-regulatory’! So let’s consider what ‘self-regulation’ means. An accountant is still able to practise in the UK and Ireland, for example, without formal qualifications and without the need to belong to a professional body. It has been argued by some that a formal accountancy qualification is not necessary to provide general accountancy services, such as tax advice, and that to restrict the use of the term ‘accountant’ would not serve the public interest. ISSUE 132 | AIAWORLDWIDE.COM
