Special to AG-IP-News Agency 

AMMAN - The Accountant, the international prestigious accounting magazine, has published a report about the issuance of Anti-money laundering (AML) Guide in Arabic and English, jointly by the International Arab Society of Certified Accountants (IASCA), and Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Global (TAG.Global).

Commenting on this accomplishment Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh said: “We, at TAG-Global and IASCA, have exerted intensive efforts to prepare these guidelines, the first of their kind, to help accountants comply with the obligations imposed on them by the laws and legislations of AML & CTF in the Arab countries”. He added that the courts should refer to the local laws and legislations along with the international regulations to decide whether an entity, subject to these laws, has committed any breach.  

The references included in these guidelines follow the broad outline of the FATF guidance for a Risk-Based Approach for the accounting profession, and they fulfill the requirements of the FATF 40 recommendations on accountancy obligations regarding AML/CFT requirements.

According to Mr. Salem Al-Ouri, IASCA CEO, “These guidelines are the latest and the most advanced guidelines applied in the developed countries. They include all the concepts and procedures that the professional accountants should be aware of to be able to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. The guidelines aim to ensure that accountants will not use the services they provide in supporting criminal activities, instead, they will employ such services in facilitating the vital transactions that support the economies and preserve the wealth of nations “. 

 The guidelines also define the accountant’s responsibilities in combating money laundering, starting from developing and maintaining a risk assessment framework, till reaching a final decision regarding how to handle high-risk clients suspected of money laundering. 

The report indicated that the issuance of the AML/CFT Guide is part of the developments taking place in the Arab region followed by the announcement made by Abu Dhabi AIM Auditing, that it will join GGI Global, and will expand its operations in the UAE. 

AIM Auditing was established in 2000, and it provides services for a range of clients across the UAE. The services include accounting, auditing, administrative consultations, feasibility studies, IT consultations, due care procedures regarding the liquidation cases, as well as management of official mandates of auditing according to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the International Standards of Auditing (ISAs).

The GGI is a global alliance of well established accounting, consultation, and legal firms with experience in providing the clients with specialized solutions for their international businesses. The GGI Alliance has access to more than 1 billion data points including projects and enterprises across the world. The GGI alliance expands to 80 markets, supported by more than 800 journalist, researcher, and analyst.

Theaccountant-online.com is a network of 30+ websites, with an unrivalled global audience of active decision makers, influencers, and opinion leaders across the world with a combined readership of 55 million industry professionals each year.

To read the report, please click this link, IASCA and TAG.Global launch anti-money laundering guidelines - The Accountant (theaccountant-online.com)