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Moonstone Monitor - 7 June 2018 |
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"Success is most often achieved by those who don't know that failure is
inevitable." - Coco Chanel |
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Distributed to 51,869 subscribers.
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From the Crow's Nest |
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FICA Update June 2018 |
If there was ever any doubt about just how serious the world is about
money laundering and related crimes, this was dispelled by the recent example of
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank agreeing to a US$530 million fine over
money-laundering breaches.
"While not deliberate, we fully appreciate the seriousness of the mistakes we
made," said CBA chief executive Matt Comyn in a statement. "Our agreement today
is a clear acknowledgement of our failures and is an important step towards
moving the bank forward.”
Closer to home we reported in April last year about a prominent motor dealership
who mistakenly neglected to report on certain transactions and was fined R368 000.
Motor dealers, as reporting institutions, adopted procedures in terms of which
the dealership itself did not accept any cash from any client or potential
client but, instead, instructed the client to pay the amount directly into the
dealerships bank account. It was then assumed that, because the money was not
physically received by the dealership, there was no need to report this.
Regulatory Approach
The latest FSCA newsletter contains important news about FICA which applies to
all FSPs who are obliged to register as Accountable Institutions (AIs). We
covered this extensively in an article published on 18 April 2018 titled
Regulatory Focus on FICA.
The Authority is to be commended for the way in which it approaches this matter.
Rather than wielding the big stick, it encourages gradual implementation, and
provides guidance and assistance in the process, with a very reasonable period
before it will start taking action.
Below is an extract from the May 2018 FAIS Newsletter.
Enforcement Date
The FAIS Newsletter published on 04 December 2017 indicated that enforcing
compliance with the new provisions of the FIC Amendment Act will be delayed to
01 December 2018. This date was determined based on the few responses received
in reply to the FIC’s state of readiness survey. Having taken into consideration
concerns raised over challenges experienced in implementing the new
requirements, a decision was taken to set a single date for all institutions
regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and align it with the
date set by the Prudential Authority.
Therefore, the cut-off date for enforcing compliance has been changed to 02 April 2019. The alignment was deemed necessary in order to achieve effective
supervision, promote coordination of supervisory activities and ensure that the
two agencies work in similar ways.
NB The bulk of the FICA legislation became effective on 2 October 2017. The
above date only applies in respect of the FSCA enforcing compliance with the
requirements. It is therefore vitally important to implement whatever steps are
necessary to comply with the FICA legislation.
During the period leading up to this date, institutions are expected to
demonstrate full compliance. Institutions are encouraged to implement the new
requirements as early as possible. The respective supervision departments within
the FSCA will engage with regulated institutions to establish progress towards
implementation of the new requirements.
The FAIS Supervision department will conduct surveys on a quarterly basis from
end of June to obtain feedback on implementation levels and indication of
timelines to address the outstanding requirements. The surveys will focus on
different types and/or categories of FSPs each quarter.
The first survey, focused on sole proprietors, was sent out last week.
FICA Workshops
The FAIS supervision department is committed to providing support and guidance
to supervised entities regarding the FICA provisions. In this regard the FAIS
supervision department will continue to conduct workshops for category I FSPs.
The purpose of the workshops is to assist this category of FSPs to better
understand their obligations in respect of the new provisions of the FIC
Amendment Act.
A series of workshops will be held at the FSCA’s offices in a continued effort
of creating awareness and education and promoting implementation of the FIC
Amendment Act. Small FSPs without compliance officers are encouraged to attend
these workshops. In addition to this, the FAIS supervision division will
continue to conduct onsite inspections to assess the level of compliance with
the FIC Act and in preparation for the Financial Action Task Force evaluation in
2019.
Please note that Moonstone also offers a FICA Awareness Online Workshop which
can earn learners 4.5 CPD hours. This training is available at no cost to
Moonstone Compliance clients.Non-clients only pay R500 per learner.
FICA Compliance Reports
The 2018 Compliance Reports will be published in June 2018 and will exclude a
section on FICA compliance. The FAIS Supervision department is developing a new
Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorist Financing annual compliance report
which will be designed to ensure that we ask the right questions to maximise the
report’s value. The FICA compliance report will be published in due course for
consultation.
Click here to download the
May 2018 FSCA FAIS Newsletter. It also reports
extensively on the Regulatory Exams. |
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Your Practice Made Perfect |
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Moonstone Monitor approved for CPD hours |
The new Fit and Proper Determination requires that certain individuals
are required to obtain a specified number of Continuous Professional
Development (CPD) hours between 1 June 2018 and 31 May 2019.
In response to an application to the FPI, a SAQA recognised Professional
Body, for recognition of the Moonstone Monitor as a vehicle towards
obtaining (CPD) hours; we received the following response from the
professional body:
It is a privilege to inform you that your Moonstone Monitor newsletter
has been recognised as a recommended source for Continuous Professional
Development purposes…”
This means that, subject to conditions outlined below, you will be able
to claim 0.5 hours for Fit and Proper CPD purposes every time you read
the Moonstone Monitor.
We are in the process of applying for similar recognition of our other
publication, the Moonstone Investment Indicators. Should this be
successful you will be able to get one CPD hour per week simply by
reading your favourite industry newsletters and answering a few
questions.
Fit and Proper Requirement for CPD recognition
In order to qualify for such recognition, subscribers will have to
register for access to an online assessment to enable us to verify to
the FSCA that you did in fact read and understand the newsletter.
Please
click here to read more about registering for the online
assessment as well as the cost involved. Access the “View Guide” link on
the page to assist you with the registration process.
Sadly, for most of you regular readers, In Lighter Wyn does not qualify
for CPD reading. |
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VAT rate on short-term insurance transactions
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The South African Insurance Association has compiled a list of questions
and answers to provide guidance in respect of the impact of the change
in VAT rate on short-term insurance transactions.
Note from SAIA- 16-May: When this document was prepared and released on
26 March 2018, the insurance industry had applied for a special
transitional ruling under Sect. 72 of the VAT Act to alleviate certain
difficulties, anomalies and incongruities in respect of transitional
arrangements. This ruling has been denied and all reference to this has
been deleted from this updated version. It does not change the
principles that were set out in the earlier version that remain intact
apart from FAQ26 in respect of broker / intermediary fees invoiced after
31 March 2018 for services performed before 1 April 2018 that in terms
of the general transitional rules attract VAT at 14%.
Click here to view the updated document.
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A few brave men and women
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There can be very little doubt that, but for the bravery of some members
of the media, South Africa would have been pushed over the brink by this
time.
The exposés by, amongst others, Jacques Pauw and the amaBhungane Centre
for Investigative Journalism, managed to turn around what appeared to be
an unstoppable downhill slide to disaster.
At a recent “TownHall” event, Sam Sole, executive director of the
amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, made the following
comment:
“In terms of role of the media, I am incredibly proud of what my
colleagues and Carol and people have achieved over the last few years.
What I don’t think that people out there realise is that thin line of
ink, those people holding the line, how few there are (of us). And again
there are structural problems: The advertising model for funding
journalism is broken. We need to re-engage ... the user-pay model is not
going to pay for accountability — for us to address the deep
inequalities.”
They are surviving, and doing a thankless job in exemplary fashion, as a
result of donations from individuals like you and me. It does not have
to be a massive amount – every little bit helps.
You may not be in a position to become actively involved in making a
change for the better, but by contributing financially, you can support
true democracy in this beautiful country of ours.
Be an amaB supporter and help them do more! |
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Technologically Speaking
Moonstone Information Refinery
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Technologically Speaking article heading |
With the recent Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal as well as
the European Union’s new set of data privacy laws that were
implemented on 25 May 2018, data protection and privacy are two of
the most talked about subjects in board meetings as well office
corridors.
As data and analytics are a big driver in how businesses
revolutionise their marketing and sales, the question now is how to
balance your digital marketing drives and privacy rulings.
In a recent ITWeb article, Grapevine discusses a few things that
companies can do to protect their reputation as well as their
customer data. The implementation of a data privacy audit, reducing
data collection and retention, securing the data you store, creating
and updating your privacy policy as well as keeping customers
informed are some of the steps they point out as the things to keep
in mind when dealing with digital marketing privacy in 2018.
Click here to read the ITWeb article.
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Regulatory Examinations
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RE Deadline 30
June 2018 |
The table below
indicates who has to successfully complete the
Regulatory Exams by 30 June 2018.
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Representatives’ DOFA |
RE 5 Deadline |
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30/06/2015 – 31/12/2015 |
30/06/2018 |
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01/01/2016 – 29/06/2016 |
30/06/2018 |
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30/06/2016 – 31/12/2016 |
30/06/2019 |
DOFA refers to your date of first appointment. For instance,
if you were appointed on 1 September 2015, you actually have
two years and nine months in which to pass the RE 5 for
representatives. If your DOFA is prior to this, and you have
not been exempted by the FSCA from passing the REs, you are
actually operating illegally, which could have dire
consequences for you AND your employer.
Unfortunately, time is now running out for those who are
compelled to pass in less than one month.
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Remember that bookings close about two weeks before the
actual exam, for logistical reasons.
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In order to write before the DOFA deadline (last exam in
June on the 29th), candidates should register by 14 June 2018.
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IMPORTANT: It is the responsibility of the candidate to
make sure that he/she is registered for the correct
examination, date, time and venue.
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How to prepare for the REs |
The FSCA strongly recommends the use of its
Preparation Guide to prepare for the exams. As you are aware Inseta
has advised that its study material contains errata. We therefore
recommend that this is only used for easier understanding of the
knowledge required, while the FSCA Preparation Guide and related
legislation should be the basis for learning.
The FSCA Preparation Guide recommends the following approach
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STEP |
ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
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1 |
Refer to the
mapping document for the exam you are planning
to write. |
This is the map of
the tasks/criteria that will be assessed in your
exam, and it contains a reference to the
relevant legislation that you are required to
study in order to understand the task /
criteria. Appendix A in the Preparation Guide |
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2 |
Look at the number
of criteria for each task. |
These are the
knowledge and skill components you require to be
able to perform.
RE 1 has 16 tasks that will be tested
RE 5 has 8 tasks that will be tested
If you have studied all the criteria for every
task, then you would be properly prepared to
write the RE 1 or RE 5 – whichever exam applies to
you. |
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3 |
To prepare for the
exam, you must spend time each day and study the
legislation and supporting training material.
One should systematically select one criteria at
a time. |
Group the criteria
together in groups of 3 or 4 and allocate study
hours per day to prepare. The total number of
hours will individually differ due to ones
circumstances. At least 2 hours per day is the
suggested number of hours. |
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4 |
To start, read the
task, and then the first criteria. Then refer to
the legislation for these criteria, and read the
legislation referred to. |
It is important to
first read the legislation so that you can see
what terms are used and how the legislation is
structured. |
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5 |
Now refer to the
additional support or training material and study
the section in the training material dealing
with those particular criteria. |
The support
material explains the particular concepts in
simple language so that it is easier to
understand what the legislation is actually
saying and what it means. |
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6 |
Then go back to the
legislation itself, and read it again.
Where there are discrepancies, ALWAYS regard the
legislation as being correct. |
Now that you have
gained a better understanding of what the
legislation is about, you may find reading the
legislation again will make more sense to you if
you didn’t understand it the first time around. |
An alternative that you may want to consider is the
LexisNexis Legislation Handbook for RE 1 (key individual)
and RE 5 (representative) exams.
The 5th edition of the Handbook has just been
released and provides the latest legislation specified as
relevant to the regulatory exams RE 1 and 5.
The Handbook has been divided into 5 sections with shaded
tabs on the side for easy access:
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TAB A: FAIS Act and Regulations
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TAB B: Code of Conduct
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TAB C: Fit and Proper
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TAB D: General Acts, Board Notices and Guidance Notes
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TAB E: FIC Act, Regulations and Guidance Notes
The Handbook together with its Preparation Guides provides a
good source to study for the exams. Click here to download
the LexisNexis Preparation Guide for
RE 1 and
RE 5. |
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2018 RE Schedules updated |
Please note: Registration cut-off is 11 working days before date of exam. |
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Careers Platform
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Are you hiring? Advertise your position on Moonstone’s Career Platform
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The Moonstone website -
www.moonstone.co.za
- enjoys an average of 20 000 visits and approximately 39 000 page views per month. |
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Moonstone boasts an exclusive newsletter mailing list of over 51000
dedicated financial decision makers who receive 2 newsletters per week. |
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Our audience is relevant and industry specific: individual and corporate advisors and brokers in the following financial sectors:
Investment, Risk, Healthcare, Banking, Retirement, and Insurance. |
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Featured Positions |
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Assistants:
HIC Underwriting Managers Pty Ltd, Bedfordview - We are looking for
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In Lighter Wyn |
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A tale of two pastas |
When all else fails
An 18 year old Italian girl sobbingly informs her mother that she is
in the other way.
Shouting, cursing, crying, the mother says, 'Who wasa da pig that
did this to you? I wanta to know!'
The girl picks up the phone and makes a call.
Half an hour later, a Ferrari stops in front of their house.
A mature and distinguished man with grey hair, impeccably dressed in
an Armani suit, steps out of the Ferrari and enters the house.
He sits in the living room with the father, mother, and the girl and
tells them:
"Good morning, your daughter has informed me of the problem.’
‘I can't marry her because of my personal family situation, but I'll
take charge.
I will pay all costs and provide for your daughter for the rest of
her life.
Additionally, if a girl is born, I will bequeath a Ferrari, 2 retail
stores, a townhouse, a beach-front villa, and a $2,000,000 bank
account.
If a boy is born, my legacy will be a couple of factories and a
$4,000,000 bank account.
If twins, they will receive a factory and $2,000,000 each.
What do you suggest I do if there is a miscarriage?”
At this point, the father, who had remained silent holding a
shotgun, places a hand firmly on the man's shoulder, looks him
directly in the eyes and tells him.
"You a-gonna try again."
Some one-liners
What do you call an Italian suppository?
An innuendo.
What does an Italian have when one arm is shorter than the other?
A speech impediment.
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Tel: +27 21 883 8000 | Fax: +27 21 883 8005
info@moonstoneinfo.com
www.moonstone.co.za
P.O. Box 12662, Die Boord, Stellenbosch, 7613, Republic of South Africa
Disclaimer:
Services and products advertised by external product suppliers in
this newsletter are paid for by the respective suppliers. Moonstone
does not endorse any opinions, conclusions, data, products, services
or other information contained in this e-mail which is unrelated to
the official business of Moonstone and furthermore accepts no
liability in respect of the unauthorised use of its e-mail facility
or the sending of e-mail communications for other than strictly
business purposes.
The complete disclaimer can be accessed
here.
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