Advisers waiting for more information on requirements

There is criticism that the Financial Markets Authority has been tardy in getting its templates and online report systems ready for the next round of reporting required from financial sector participants.

Thursday, July 3rd 2014, 6:00AM

Reporting entities, which include financial advisers, should now be working on their first AML return.

They have to complete the annual return by August 30, covering the period from July 1 to June 30.

AFAs also have to complete their first information return, an annual report about their businesses as at June 30, required under the regulatory reporting requirements.

The FMA had wanted the new regulatory reporting guide, which covers the information return, to come into effect on June 26.

It has been suggested it could take anything from a day to two weeks to accurately fill in the return, which asks for everything from details of business revenue by advice type to how reporting to clients is done.

The return is a detailed questionnaire running to more than 20 pages that asks for information about the adviser and their business.

The FMA is planning to release an AFA update this week on the information return.

The online template for AML/CFT went live on Tuesday.

Adviser Murray Weatherston said the FMA had left it too late to get the information to the industry.

“AFAs have to do regulatory reporting as at June 30, reporting entities have to file AML annual reports for the year ended June 30.”

He said further details should have been available before late in the day on July 1 so that advisers could start work on the reports to meet the deadlines. “Should we all file the last day, too?”

The AML questions were finalised in May 2013.

An FMA spokesman said: “We have received many queries about AML reporting, none of these queries mentioned the timeline being unreasonable."

The FMA website had promised the AML report template would be available no later than July 1.

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