Compliance Is Not a Cost Center: It’s a Strategic Advantage
By Stanley Foodman, CEO of Foodman CPAs & Advisors In a global environment where regulations are rapidly evolving and oversight agencies are increasing scrutiny, many organizations are asking the wrong question: “How much does compliance cost us?” The better question is: “What does it enable us to achieve?” For too long, regulatory compliance has been […]
CRS 3.0: What LATAM Compliance Teams Need to Know Now
In 2024, the OECD introduced a major update to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), known as CRS 3.0. While formally adopted in 2024, 2025 is a critical transition year for financial institutions and jurisdictions preparing for mandatory compliance beginning January 1, 2026, with the first reports due in 2027. For compliance officers, family offices, and […]
FATCA Responsible Officer Certifications due 7/1/25
On 1/21/25, the IRS issued Bulletin Issue Number: 2025-02 to remind the FATCA Responsible Officer that Certifications are due 7/1/25 for the Certification period ending December 31, 2024. The Bulletin also provided a reminder to users of the new FATCA Registration System sign-in options. Entities that are required to certify ought to keep in mind […]
NTA Addresses Overlap Reporting
On 1/8/25, the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) published its 2024 Annual Report to Congress and identified taxpayers’ problems and provided suggestions to further protect taxpayer rights and ease taxpayer burden. “By law, the National Taxpayer Advocate’s report must identify the ten most serious problems taxpayers face in their dealings with the IRS and make administrative […]
Beneficial Ownership Information Access
On 11/15/24, FinCEN updated two Beneficial Ownership Information Access FAQs. The theme of the 11/15/24 update is Beneficial Ownership Access in accordance with the Corporate Transparency Act. FinCEN had previously update the its FAQ Section on 4/18/24 when they added a new section titled “Access to BOI Information”. This was a new section that addressed […]
BIS New Guidance for FI’s Best Practices
On 10/9/24, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) within the Department of Commerce has issued guidance aimed at financial institutions (FIs), outlining best practices for adherence to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This BIS new guidance offers foundational information regarding the EAR and outlines measures that financial institutions can implement to reduce the risk […]
Deepfake Media FinCEN Fraud Alert
On 11/13/24, FinCEN issued an alert aimed at assisting financial institutions in recognizing fraudulent schemes linked to the utilization of deepfake media generated by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. The alert for deepfake media outlines the various typologies related to these schemes, offers red flag indicators to aid in the detection and reporting of suspicious […]
Model 1 FFI’s Obtain Extension of Relief
IRS issued Notice 2024-78 on 10/28/24 providing the extension of temporary relief for FATCA Model 1 Financial Institutions (FFI’s) regarding the reporting of U.S. Taxpayer Identification Numbers. This means that the temporary relief outlined in Notice 2023-11 is extended, in accordance with the procedures and requirements specified in this Notice 2024-78, for certain FFI’s that […]
TD Bank gets $1.3 Billion Penalty from FinCEN
On 10/10/24, FinCEN assessed a record $1.3 billion penalty against TD Bank for BSA violations. This unprecedented penalty should function as a cautionary message and a warning to all financial institutions. All financial institutions should critically evaluate whether they have developed and sustained a well-structured BSA/AML and CFT compliance program. The risk assessment process of […]
BOI FAQs 10/3/24
On 10/3/24, FinCEN published twenty five (25) new updates to the BOI FAQ webpage. The BOI FAQs 10/3/24 address: access to BOI reports, third party service providers, entity conversion, identifications, community property and exemptions. FinCEN’s last update to the BOI FAQ webpage was on 9/10/24. Business owners ought to understand the importance of keeping up […]
Pig Butchering Crypto Scams Rising
Pig Butchering Crypto Scams are scams which resemble the practice of fattening a hog before slaughter. “Victims invest in supposedly legitimate virtual currency investment opportunities before they are conned out of their money. Scammers refer to victims as “pigs,” and may leverage fictitious identities, the guise of potential relationships, and elaborate storylines to “fatten up” […]
Mail Theft-Check Fraud
Back on February 27, 2023, FinCEN issued (in close collaboration with the United States Postal Inspection Service) an Alert on Nationwide Surge in Mail Theft-Related Check Fraud Schemes Targeting the U.S. Mail. Then, on 9/9/24, FinCEN issued a Financial Trend Analysis related to mail theft-check fraud incidents based on Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data filed […]
