Bravery and Corruption

It's been an historic month for ICB, but there were tears shed too. This year not only marks 25 years of ICB, but also the 15 years since Garry and June Carter formed the Institute of Certified Financial Managers (ICFM) in Eastern Europe. Galvanised by a need for international recognition and accessible, robust qualifications, ICFM has flourished over the period. We were honoured to be visited by a delegation of around 20 ICFM members and representatives last week at two special events to celebrate our work and the impact we have had on raising public trust in accounting professionals worldwide.

 

I certainly got a healthy dose of reality when I sat down for lunch with our partner, Helena Khorikova, who had travelled for several days to get here from Kyiv. Helena founded and runs ICFM Ukraine and is well known to ICB members who follow us on Facebook. Helena is fierce and outspoken at the best of times, and her gratitude to ICB and to the whole of the UK for our support was incredibly humbling.

 

The Ukrainian delegation was entirely female of course, as men over 18 are prohibited from leaving the country; 'nor do they want to' says Helena. At one point we raised our glasses to toast the strength of women as they shared experiences that were, frankly, hard to fathom. Unable to continue in their jobs, many of the ladies have supported the war effort since February, volunteering tirelessly to assist others and help them relocate where possible. Olena Nusinova told me, 'I can now fill in the application forms in my sleep, I've done so many.' One of our visitors will return to the literal front line, treating injured soldiers in a her clinic-turned-war-hospital.

 

What was even more staggering than hearing about the atrocities that are taking place every day, was witnessing the seemingly unbroken spirit and the unfaltering belief that peace and victory will prevail. Receiving an award to honour her work, one of our delegates quoted John Lennon, 'You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us and the world will be as one.'

 

The next day we took our Eastern European delegates to St James' Palace for a more formal anniversary event, attended together with our UK staff team and an intimate group of ICB UK members recognised for their contribution to ICB and to the profession. It was lovely to catch up with our inspiring Branch Chairs, Advisory Council members and LUCA Award winners. Look out for more information and photographs shortly!

 

After a bevy of crustless sandwiches and scones, we trotted down the road to discuss anti-money laundering (AML) at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). As the world’s oldest defence and security think tank, RUSI is on a mission to help build a safer and more stable world. Accounting professionals everywhere play a crucial role in protecting economies from illicit finance. The RUSI visit on 24 June coincided with the government's release of its Review of the UK’s AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory regime that came out the same day. In the review's foreword, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen MP, asserts, 'As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made all too clear, it is a fallacy to conceptualise economic crime as simple white-collar misdeeds that take place in board rooms and skyscrapers, with consequences far removed from everyday life. We have seen the true human cost of dirty money splashed across the front pages of our newspapers and the nightly news: the true price of bribes taken, tax unpaid and cash quietly assimilated into our financial system.'

 

As the UK's fourth largest professional body supervisor for the accountancy sector, ICB plays a hugely important role in the AML regime, not only ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations and enforcing against non-compliance, but supporting our supervised practices through engagement and education and, in the words of the report, together with our fellow supervisors, 'protecting the perimeter of the regulated sector from non-supervised businesses.'

 

The challenges facing the UK and the rest of the world from illicit finance remain significant. The UK government's review of the effectiveness of the AML regime echoes a February report by the Treasury Select Committee expressing disappointment that poor performance and inconsistencies remained across professional body supervisors (of which ICB is but one of 22 for the accountancy and legal sector). ICB will be responding to the recent report and keeping you informed of any changes that may be on the horizon. OPBAS, which oversees the work of the AML supervisors and has itself come under scrutiny, is planning an update to its guidance this year which will further clarify how the supervisors can increase their supervisory effectiveness.

 

ICB remains committed to supporting bookkeepers and accounting professionals worldwide by ensuring they are knowledgeable and up to date with the latest legislation, mindful of their ethical obligations, and best-placed to provide a trusted and exemplary service to business. In so doing we look forward to sharing in your successes and shedding tears at your stories of passion and fortitude. Thankfully we're not all trying to survive a war, but we are all daily facing challenges of our own. Together we can continue to raise the profile for bookkeepers, protect the public, and help businesses grow.