The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) says it supports the proposed amendments to the Financial Intelligence Center Act (Fica).
However, the institute says it is concerned about the costs that compliance will have, especially for small, medium and micro-enterprises.
The institute made its submissions to the Standing Committee on Finance during a virtual public hearing on proposed changes to the Financial Intelligence Center Act.
The amendments are aimed at eliminating loopholes in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
SAICA’s Juanita Steenkamp talks about the implications these amendments will have for small, medium and micro-enterprises.
“Now they will have to spend money on this adaptation, certain checks on people registering with the FIC, reporting certain transactions. So just in terms of that, our members as accountants already have a code of professional conduct. We are talking about non-compliance with laws and regulations. They are [are] already have to report if there are any discrepancies, so this obligation already exists. But all this will now be new for FIC, it will take time, costs and effort to implement,” explains Steenkamp.
Critical systems gaps put South Africa at risk:
Meanwhile, the Standing Committee on Finance has warned that the National Treasury will have to take over if the October deadline to amend the Financial Intelligence Center Act (Fica) is not met.
It said the National Treasury had delayed the submission of the proposed amendments.
The amendments are aimed at eliminating loopholes in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
