21 mars 2022

The current geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine may have a severe impact on the operations of a number of entities. 

We would like to highlight the following recent publications dealing with various general topics to be considered in the context of your audit activities: 

Accountancy Europe

“War in Ukraine, what European accountants need to know”

CTR (French)

“Les mesures restrictives à l'encontre de la Russie et de la Biélorussie”

CTR (Dutch)

“De beperkende maatregelen tegen Rusland en Wit-Rusland”

In addition, we would also like to draw your attention to the communications issued by the ESMA, the EBA and the NBB on the restrictive financial measures taken and the responsibilities of the financial market participants and the financial institutions in this respect: 

ESMA

“ESMA coordinates regulatory response to the war in Ukraine and its impact on EU financial markets”

EBA

“EBA calls on financial institutions to ensure compliance with sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and to facilitate access to basic payment accounts for refugees”  

NBB (Dutch)

“Bericht ter attentie van de voorzitter van de raad van bestuur, de voorzitter van het directiecomité en de compliance officer van uw instelling”

NBB (French)

“Message à l’attention du Président du Conseil d’administration, du Président du Comité de direction et du compliance officer de votre institution”

Considering these evolutions, we would like to remind our members of the importance of the early warning function (“signaalfunctie/fonction de signal”) should the accredited auditor of an entity under prudential supervision become aware of problems in, amongst others, the proper implementation of these measures.