In a series of articles
for the Cayman Financial Review I have explored the long awaited
statutory residence test which is to be introduced in the UK from 6
April 2013. After a lengthy delay and an extended consultation period we
finally have draft legislation. Quite a few changes have been made from
the original proposals.
For the first time the International Accounting Standards Board
(IASB) has issued industry specific guidance for investment entities.
Under US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) ...
As more and more bank scandals are surfacing in the financial
capitals of London and New York, Singapore seeks to implement tougher
rules and strengthen existing standards as regulators move to safeguard
and reinforce the reputation of Singapore’s fast-growing financial
service sector.
Much has been written, including the 300-page US Senate Subcommittee
report itself, on the AML issues at HSBC. This writing includes front
page news articles in major news publications, which gets management’s
attention.
In Issue 25 I looked at the proposed new statutory residence test. The
new rules should have been introduced from 6 April 2012 but this
introduction has been delayed until 6 April 2013 while there is a
further period of consultation.
Data pervades almost every business and industry, whether it be
financial services, retail, telecoms and media, or legal and other
professional services. The vast majority of business now generates and
is conducted through data of some form, and data volumes continue to
grow exponentially.
All areas of the legal and financial services industries are
currently seeing unprecedented levels of attention from politicians and
others.
Although there has been progress since the Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) was developed between the International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board
(FASB) in 2002, today there continues to be differences between
International Financial Reporting Standards and US Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles (US GAAP) [Accounting Standards Codifications
(ASC)].
The United States Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) makes it illegal for a US citizen, a US-based or US-listed company, or foreign persons acting in the US, to attempt to bribe foreign officials (including making gifts or charitable contributions) with the goal of gaining a business advantage.
On 1 July 2011 the Bribery Act 2010 came into force in the United
Kingdom. The legislation has been described as the “toughest anti
corruption legislation in the world”. The introduction of an
offence for commercial organisations which fail to ...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced they are on track to
issue proposed FATCA regulations in December 2011 (if the IRS miss their
announced deadline we expect the guidance will be released before 31
January, 2012), with registration required by 30 June, 2013.
In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, across the
Middle East and North Africa a “wave of revolutions” raises cries for freedom
and democracy. In their wake, the global community sweeps in sanctions to
support citizens and help suppress oppressive regimes. Will they work? Will
they impact your organisation?
Nine years after the 9/11 attacks in the United States, confidential
diplomatic communications leaked by WikiLeaks reveal millions of dollars
still flowing to terrorists for plans to attack and kill innocent
civilians worldwide.
Over the last 50 years, we have witnessed fundamental changes to the
role of the auditor. Influenced by critical events (eg court decisions,
corporate failures, economic melt-downs), audit responsibility has
evolved from straight-forward error and fraud detection to the provision
of more value-added services for clients and regulators;
Technology has provided the tools for companies to engage in business in any corner of the world and to be managed from any location. Cayman’s tax neutral platform and security as a United Kingdom overseas territory, as well as its reputation for efficiency and an abundance of financial expertise, provides an advantage over other international financial centres.
The recent rhetoric of the G20, OECD and other international bodies includes official corruption as a critical global problem. This is then tied back to ‘tax havens’ and ‘bank secrecy’, i.e. offshore financial services centres are active participants in processing the proceeds of official corruption, particularly corruption in the impoverished third world.
This despite hard evidence to the contrary from several respected sources – for example the Turner Review (p74, March 2009) which specifically acknowledges that ‘the role of offshore financial centres was not central in the origins of the current crisis’.