This article was originally created for Hayes Knight (now Nexia Auckland).

15 October 2018

From 1 October 2018, accountants (and bookkeepers) are required to comply with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009. This means where our clients receive services from us which constitute a ‘captured activity’, we will need to undertake Customer Due Diligence (CDD).

This will involve us asking you for proof of identity in the form of sighting your passport or drivers’ licence and verifying your address.  While normally this will be a fairly straightforward exercise, the complexity of the CDD will depend on your structure (eg entity types) and whether there are off-shore owners or controlling persons, as CDD will also need to be carried out on those off-shore persons.  In addition, it may be necessary for us to obtain information to confirm the source of funds for a transaction.

Therefore, for those of you who we provide captured activities for, we will be in touch over the next few months to undertake CDD.  We thank you in advance for your assistance in helping us meet our obligations under these new regulations.

APPLYING FOR CLIENT IRD NUMBERS NOW EASIER FOR REPORTING ENTITIES

One bonus to come out of the AML/CFT Act is that it is now easier for us to apply for IRD numbers for offshore clients.

Hayes Knight is a ‘Reporting Entity’ under the AML/CFT Act.  This means that instead of an offshore client needing a fully functional New Zealand bank account before an IRD number will be issued, instead we are able to confirm to the IRD that we have carried out the correct level of CDD.

If you have any questions on the AML requirements, please contact your Hayes Knight advisor.

Shelley-ann Brinkley Associate – Tax Consulting
T +64 9 414 5444
E shelley-ann.brinkley@hayesknight.co.nz

Find updates

This article was originally created for Hayes Knight (now Nexia Auckland).