Audit & Governance Weekly Financial News 16th October 2020

Company News

Published on: Thursday, October 15, 2020 by Paul Stanbridge

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Last week I received an email to ask for clarity on the huge increase in one of the hottest topics right now – decentralised finance. There’s an excellent comprehensive introduction to the topic of DeFi from Gavin Brown Associate Professor in FinTech (https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2020/oct-2020/what-is-defi-and-why-does-it-matter-for-accountants) , CA on the ICAEW website this week.

MS Excel was a top story on the BBC website this week. If, like me you were fastidiously following the UK Excel file / covid bungle, I recommend this site dedicated to recording spreadsheet risk (http://www.eusprig.org/horror-stories.htm) . Full of fascinating [no, they really are!] spreadsheet horror stories…

“Scientists rename human genes to stop Microsoft Excel from misreading them as dates”…. “Drinks company’s £5.2M spreadsheet arithmetic error”.

Danske Bank AML update – Danske is due to finish its own investigation into the internal governance mistakes that allowed €200 billion+ of dirty money to flow through the Estonian subsidiary from 2007- 2015 (https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-danske-bank-moneylaundering-explainer/explainer-danske-banks-200-billion-euro-money-laundering-scandal-idUKKCN1NO10D) . For those interested, Compliance Week will be hosting a webinar (ticketed) withDanske Banks new Chief Compliance officer, Philippe Vollot in November. (https://events.complianceweek.com/event/2b0a2c22-8c3e-4682-b44c-2e849f97e2f2/websitePage:a8d1b404-6ba9-4215-b995-13ee6a0a7937?rt=yVO0CzbuzEeLFG80Jo5GRA&utm_campaign=cwe2020v&utm_medium=email&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiT1RCaVpqRTBaVFU1TkRRMCIsInQiOiJuNkRDTGJTUUo0d0wyRitsZWlSTUxUd1k3OEpUOVhlT1RKTDM3REwyR3NmUVpxSzExZmhsdjBGZ200S2tWeEE2VklYeXgxeXpHRmtsbEc5SXZBS1VGRVQ0K3dVMWdyV2I5UStleTBDSkdzV2h6YnFXbWRac1dIZGhqY2d1Y2VYVSJ9&RefId=em05-agenda-link&utm_content=cta_agenda&utm_source=em05-mmbr-rg-1)
Deutsche Bank were also being investigated as a result of the Danske Bank probe but German prosecutors have now dropped their Money Laundering investigation into senior management misconduct… however on their way out, they did leave the German bank with a $16M fine… story below.

That’s all for this week.

Enjoy

Paul
In the news this week…
DEUTSCHE BANK FINED $16M BY GERMAN PROSECUTORS IN DANSKE PROBE

Deutsche Bank AG fined 13.5 million euros ($16 million) by Frankfurt prosecutors over money-laundering violations related to work with Danske Bank… read more (https://www.bloombergquint.com/markets/deutsche-bank-fined-by-german-prosecutors-in-danske-bank-probe)
HEDGE FUND FINED FOR NOT DISCLOSING SHORT POSITIONS

A Hong Kong-based hedge fund has been fined almost £900,000 after failing to disclose its record-breaking short position in Premier Oil… read more (https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hedge-fund-fined-for-not-disclosing-premier-short-ng83f9zs5#:~:text=A%20Hong%20Kong%2Dbased%20hedge,short%20position%20in%20Premier%20Oil.&text=The%20fund%2C%20which%20declined%20to,Capital%2C%20an%20American%20hedge%20fund.)
AUDITOR DEATHS – LIBERIA REQUESTS US INTERVENTION AFTER STRING OF DEATHS

President George Weah of Liberia is seeking the assistance of the United States administration to probe the mysterious deaths of at least three government workers in eight days… read more (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/liberia-requests-us-intervention-string-185402926.html)
LLOYDS BANK – INTERNAL AUDIT REDUNDANCIES EXPECTED

According to Accord, one of its staff unions, the groups internal audit team and retail chief operating office are likely to be effected with redundancies… read more (https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2020/10/15/lloyds-banking-group-have-announced-more-job-cuts/)
FCA TURNS THE SCREWS ON COMPLIANCE WHEN WORKING FROM HOME

FCA warns banks they must provide the same standard of surveillance for those working from home amid coronavirus crisis as they would in an office environment… read more (https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/36734/fca-turns-the-screws-on-compliance-in-work-from-home-environment)
FCA – TWO IFAS BANNED FOR LYING ABOUT HIGH NET WORTH CLIENTS
The City watchdog has banned two advisers who lied about the high net worth status of numerous clients to Sipp provider James Hay…
read more (https://www.ftadviser.com/regulation/2020/10/12/fca-bans-ifas-who-lied-about-high-net-worth-clients/)
ISA600 – CHANGE ON THE HORIZON FOR GROUP AUDITS

As IAASB’s consultation on standards concludes, the ICAEW expects a revised standard which will require auditors to take a more top-down, risk-based approach to the audit of groups… read more (https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2020/oct-2020/change-on-the-horizon-for-group-audits)
EXTERNAL AUDIT – GUIDE FOR AUDITORS ON REPORTING IRREGULARITIES INCLUDING FRAUD

Audit reports covering periods post December 2019 must explain extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities… read more (https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2020/oct-2020/change-on-the-horizon-for-group-audits)

** Hiring for your Internal Audit team?
————————————————————
We have an extensive network of immediately available Internal Audit candidates. Call Paul on 0203 397 1774
Paul Stanbridge
Before establishing Fleet Search and Selection with Craig Phipps, Paul worked as an Equity Research Analyst in London. Now, a recruitment consultant for almost two decades, he has recruited many senior roles, including Global Heads of Audit and C-Suite executives. His wide network spans Insurance, Asset Management and Banking, with expertise including Audit, Compliance and Advisory.
As with his day job, Paul likes getting people excited about things. He is a passionate competitive foil fencer with 5 caps for Scotland and now enjoys coaching others to enjoy fencing too.
Contact:
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
Craig Phipps

Craig has spent over 20 years recruiting for the Financial Services Industry, predominately in Business and Technology Audit for Investment Banks and Asset Managers. He has also recruited extensively in Market Risk and Quantitative finance. Prior to establishing Fleet Search and Selection, he headed up the Investment Banking Audit and IT Audit Divisions at two prominent recruitment companies.
Craig has helped 100’s of candidates make difficult career choices. When not at work, his strategic mindset turns to his passions for skiing and rugby and is a huge supporter of Australia’s national rugby team.
Contact:
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

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