Paul Smith, CEO
IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, April 2024
Dear members,
I am writing this as final preparations are underway for next week’s Annual Conference, which is nearly sold out. With an extensive programme for the day and much to discuss, we’re looking forward to seeing everyone there and I look forward to hosting and updating delegates on the work of the IPA, alongside all the other updates from key stakeholders.
Turning to matters of regulation and supervision, our team have noted that AML compliance is getting better, but that there are still some concerns and room for improvement, particularly in members’ due diligence measures and application of SIP 2 (Investigations by Office Holders in Administrations and Insolvent Liquidations and the Submission of Conduct Reports by Office Holders).
Please do take time to visit our Anti-Money Laundering Hub for full guidance on AML compliance. It is there for you to use and is geared exclusively to insolvency. 2024 will also see us repeat our dedicated fraud and AML conference in September which was very well supported last year. If you want to hear from us sooner on this topic, we ran an AML webinar on Monday (15th April) – if you couldn’t make it but would like to hear what was covered you can purchase a recording of this by contacting events@ipa.uk.com.
On a linked note, we have recently published various updated documents that it is important that you are aware of. Our Anti-Money Laundering High Risk Indicators is a key IPA publication for members and Nominated Officers (NOs), and we have also updated our general guidance on AML matters which should be a useful point of reference. Parallel to this, we have released a new whistleblowing policy for disclosures to the IPA and accompanying guidance for members. Do ensure you note these updates. Read more information here.
That all sounded like a bit of an AML download, and you will know that AML supervision is only one part of what we do, but it is an area that is causing us concern on a regular basis which is why I have focused on it in my remarks this month.
Best wishes,
Paul Smith