The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has launched Singapore’s first industry-led best practice paper to enhance anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism audits in banks and implement best practices for AML audits.

This was done in partnership with the Anti-Money Laundering Audit Peer Group (AAPG), an industry-led group established in October 2022 to facilitate AML/CFT audit best practices in Singapore’s financial industry.

AAPG is co-chaired by DBS and OCBC, with the Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore (IIA) and Ernst and Young Advisory (EY) among its members.

The group also aims to promote engagement with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the wider audit community on key AML/CFT risk areas.

On Monday (Oct 21), ABS said the best practice paper was developed in consultation with both industry and professional associations.

It seeks to boost AML/CFT auditing standards in Singapore by providing both bank internal auditors, as well as external auditors working with banks, a common framework to formulate and execute audits.

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Both baseline standards and best practices outlined in the paper referenced practices of banking institutions and audit firms that contributed to AAPG’s benchmarking survey conducted in 2023. 

Using the survey results, AAPG developed detailed guidance on several focus areas for both internal audit and external audit functions such as risk assessment.

From The Business Times by Michelle Zhu –> Full article and more