Is DAC6 the next target for HMRC’s Corporate Criminal Offence (CCO) audits?

HMRC has stepped up their Corporate Criminal Offence (CCO) investigations. HMRC recently responded to a Freedom of Information request that showed that on 31 December 2019, HMRC had 9 live investigations and 21 further opportunities under review in various industry sectors. The results of these audits will be made public as soon as appropriate to do so. 

What is a Corporate Criminal Offence (CCO) audit?

The Corporate Criminal Offences (CCO) for the failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion were introduced by Part 3 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017. HMRC has made government guidance available. The UK government also plans to create a new Anti-Tax Evasion Unit within HMRC to step up the investigations for Corporate Criminal Offences.

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VinciWorks stands with the black community

Recent events have once again highlighted racism and grave injustices towards people of colour, accentuating the need for both continued and renewed introspection and action to fight against racism. Sadly, these issues still exist in workplaces across the world.

VinciWorks strives to create a fairer, safer and more honest world. We have shown this through the impactful training we deliver on diversity, inclusion and anti-harassment, as well as other topics. We continually evaluate, expand and update our training and free resources to reflect how important diversity and inclusion is to us. 

Here’s what we are doing:

Free diversity and inclusion resources

Our diversity resources page contains practical resources, guides, policy templates and assessments to help organisations implement inclusive workplaces that promote equality and do not tolerate racism or harassment. The page can be shared across your organisation or bookmarked for easy access.

Access free diversity resources

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VinciWorks’ mental health course shortlisted for EG Tech Awards for Wellbeing Technology of the Year

Our mental health course provides provide an immersive and practical online learning experience

VinciWorks’ mental health and wellbeing course has been selected for this year’s EG Tech Awards for the category of Wellbeing Technology of the Year. Bringing together tech businesses and established players in real estate, these awards reward innovation and delivery among both groups. This is the second award our mental health course has been shortlisted for, after we were shortlisted for the InsideOut award for Best Use of Technology in January. The winner of that award will now be announced in September.

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VinciWorks releases new Advanced and Fundamentals anti-money laundering training

Our new AML training includes interactive assessments such as our red flag email assessment

When it comes to anti-money laundering training, relevant content has never been needed more. Content that isn’t engaging isn’t going to stick and will ultimately waste the learner’s time. Boring content, along with a lack of interaction, severely harms the effectiveness of training.

VinciWorks has released new anti-money laundering training. Featuring both an Advanced course for high-risk staff and a Fundamentals course for staff with lower exposure to money laundering risk, the new courses take relevance to the heart of training. With realistic scenarios, role-specific content, laws and procedures applicable in the jurisdiction, real-life case studies as well as a fresh, bold new design, our anti-money laundering training is suitable for any business, any user, anywhere.

Learn more

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Omnitrack available with on-premises hosting

VinciWorks’ Omnitrack reporting tool is used to manage sensitive compliance data, such as DAC6 reporting, GDPR and annual declarations. The security of this data is maintained through multiple layers of encryption and cyber security controls. These measures are audited on a regular basis by an independent penetration tester.

In addition, VinciWorks enables clients to take full control of their data by offering multiple hosting options: 

  • SaaS – Cloud offering hosted by VinciWorks
  • Cloud offering with dedicated client database
  • On-premises or private cloud hosting
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Automatic workflows for every member state now built into DAC6 reporting tool

Comprehensive intelligence that adapts to the nature and reporting country of the arrangement

Attempting to determine whether an arrangement should be reported under DAC6 is not simply a matter of reading the Directive or the Hallmarks. Each EU member state has transposed DAC6 into local law, many times with slight modifications.

VinciWorks’ DAC6 reporting tool features built-in workflow rules and expert knowledge for every member state. These workflows are available out-of-the-box and require no configuration.

The DAC6 reporting tool:

  • Provides country-specific guidance for every member state in English
  • Includes translated versions of some key government documents
  • Adapts the workflow to each member state’s requirements
  • Prompts the user to add local translations of the arrangement details where needed
  • Detects when domestic transactions should be reported
  • Is ready for automatic reporting in multiple jurisdictions with built-in XML schemas

This automatic intelligence and workflow was built in collaborate with international tax experts and is based on our comprehensive guide to DAC6 implementation across Europe.

To illustrate this, here are a number of examples from the DAC6 reporting tool.

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Law Society publishes guidance on DAC6 and legal professional privilege

DAC6 is an EU directive that requires lawyers (and other intermediaries) to report certain cross border tax arrangements to local tax authorities.

There is a provision within DAC6 that exempts lawyers from reporting, where a report would breach legal professional privilege. In such a case, the lawyer is expected to notify the taxpayer (and in some cases other intermediaries) of their disclosure obligations under the rules, provided that doing so does not itself breach legal professional privilege.

The Law Society of England and Wales has just published its guidance on LPP.

The main points from the Law Society are as follows:

  • Before making a DAC6 report to HMRC, lawyers should ask themselves whether any information in the report would reveal the substance or subject matter of confidential communications that have passed between them and their clients in the context of providing legal advice
  • In most cases, the Law Society expects that LPP will prevent a lawyer who has advised a client about a reportable cross-border arrangement from making a report under DAC6
  • If LPP applies, the lawyer must inform the client about their obligation to report under DAC6
  • If a lawyer makes a report to HMRC under DAC6, HMRC should send them an arrangement reference number. Although it probably does not breach LPP, lawyers should assess LPP before sharing the arrangement number with other intermediaries
  • Clients can waive LPP, but lawyers cannot
  • Privilege can be waived at any time, but it should be waived unambiguously and in writing
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Anti-money laundering guide — Bringing relevance to the heart of training

AML guide to relevance

After interviewing leading experts in AML and instructional design, it has become clear that the single most significant factor in delivering effective training is relevance. Training that resonates with the user, that feels like it was written with his or her particular industry, practice area or job role in mind, works.

We have created a guide presenting a strong business case for making relevance an important factor when choosing which AML training to enrol your staff in. It covers the industries with the highest risk of money laundering.

The guide covers the following sectors:

  • Accountancy
  • Legal
  • Financial services
  • Cryptocurrency businesses
  • Property

Download the guide

On-demand webinar: DAC6 for multinationals – An overview of VinciWorks’ DAC6 reporting solution

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Register for our DAC6 email updates

Any company that undertakes international tax arrangements could be affected by DAC6. Reports may be made by professional advisers, known as “intermediaries”, that advise on the arrangements, but where an arrangement is organised in-house or the intermediary cannot report for another reason, the responsibility falls on the taxpayer to file their own report.

VinciWorks has been in close consultation with HMRC, other tax regulators and over 100 leading international firms to establish the implications of the EU Directive and build a reporting solution to help businesses comply.

In this webinar, we covered the core features of our software and shared guidance on how international businesses can use it to report and track transactions.

Request a recording

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How to mitigate the risk of financial crime during COVID-19

While much of the world has been in lockdown and most staff have been working from home, financial crime has not disappeared. In fact, fraud has become more sophisticated than ever with many criminals using the pandemic as an opportunity to exploit vulnerabilities. It is crucial to adapt financial crime controls such as anti-money laundering (AML) procedures to the specific needs of the crisis. Financial crime procedures should be kept under frequent review as the pandemic progresses.

Here are some tips on how to protect your firm from financial crime during the pandemic and beyond.

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