Accountancy Europe has presented recommendations to strengthen the financial reporting ecosystem and ECIIA has reacted.
A publication is now available, where the recommendations to better implement the existing anti-money laundering (AML) are presented. The document includes recommendations:
- For the board of directors:
- To build a strong anti-money laundering culture;
- To create an escalation process to allow employee reporting noncompliance with AML regulation;
- For the management:
- 1st line: to ensure that people engage in the business operations understand their ML risks and obligations in respect of managing these risks;
- 2nd line: to regularly reassess whether the control processes are efficient and effective to manage ML risks;
- 3rd line: ensure that the audit scope and methodology are appropriate to the risk profile.
Accountancy Europe proposes to take another look into all key players’ role (including auditors, companies’ boards and management, legislators, standard setters and regulators) who must take a coordinated approach to achieve tangible results in tackling fraud and better deal and communicate on issues with a company’s ability to continue as a ‘going concern’.
ECIIA has reacted to their recommendations, emphasizing the role that internal auditors play in detecting, preventing, and monitoring fraud risks and addressing those risks in audits and investigations.
Regarding the assessment of the going concern, internal auditors give reasonable assurance and advice to senior management and the Board on the shifting risks and controls landscape to help anticipate emerging risks. They review all the processes, including the ones related to the strategy control cycle, reporting and management information.
Finally, we have recommended seeking opportunities to reduce overlap between internal audit and other assurance providers (2d line or external) and where possible, to engage with such assurance providers to understand their scope of work, coverage, and depth of testing to be performed, to identify and progress opportunities to collaborate and assist.
ECIIA’s reaction.