top stories
New Anti Money Laundering Regulations come into force
The New Money Laundering Regulations (NMLR) came into force on 15 December 2007 and require all persons carrying on business in the United Kingdom as an auditor, external accountant, insolvency practitioner or tax adviser to be supervised by an appropriate body.
An 'external accountant' is defined as someone who provides 'accountancy services' by way of business. The term 'accountancy services' is not defined in the Regulations. The CCAB Anti-Money Laundering Guidance issued in December 2007 states that "for the purposes of this Guidance, 'accountancy services' includes any service provided under a contract for services (i.e., not a contract of employment) which pertains to the recording, review, analysis, calculation or reporting of financial information."
It is therefore the view of ACCA that under the new Regulations:
- ACCA members holding a practising certificate whose firms are regulated by ACCA will continue to be supervised by ACCA under the new Money Laundering Regulations (NMLR)
- ACCA members undertaking accountancy services under the Honorary Reporting Exemption [ACCA Rulebook 2007 section 2.2 paragraph 4(3)] will not be required to be supervised under NMLR as they will not be considered to be 'in business'
- ACCA members, affiliates, CAT technicians and registered students who undertake 'accountancy services' that are defined as 'basic book-keeping services' in the ACCA Rulebook 2007 section 2.1 paragraph 8(2)(a) (i) to (iii) are likely to be covered by the statutory definition of 'accountancy services' and will be required to register with an alternative Supervisory Body, since they will not be supervised by ACCA.
HM Revenue & Customs is a recognised Supervisory Body under NMLR. Details of how to register with them can be found on the HM Revenue & Customs website 
The ACCA Rulebook is available online.