Over 30 accountants and auditors benefited from a two day workshop on “Anti-Money Laundering/Countering Financing of Terrorism Compliance and Supervision for Accountants and Auditors” which took place on 29-30 May ion Tbilisi. The aim of the workshop was to improve the understanding of international standards and the national legal framework relevant to anti-money laundering and combatting of financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) for the two target groups.

Members of Georgia’s professional organisations, including the Georgian Federation of Professional Accountants and Auditors (GFPAA), the Federation of Auditors, Accountants and Financial Managers (FAAFM), and the Georgian Association of Independent Accountants and Auditors (GAIAA), attended the workshop. The Financial Monitoring Service of Georgia and the Accounting, Reporting and Auditing Service of Georgia (SARAS), which exercise supervisory authority over the sector’s AML/CFT compliance, were also represented at the workshop.

The two-day workshop raised awareness of AML/CFT risks and vulnerabilities in the sector, national legislative requirements and new AML/CFT draft law of Georgia. The legal duties and responsibilities of these professionals and the role of supervisory institutions to enforce compliance were also discussed. Through practical exercises, sector representatives had the opportunity to discuss with the Council of Europe expert current implementation challenges, importance of cooperation, identification of AML/CFT risks, asking the right questions especially when on-boarding clients and preparing accounts or conducting audit , and practices on supervision methods.