The Policy Document provides clarity on the effect of the Declaration, including transitional provisions, and the approach the FSCA is taking in establishing a regulatory and licensing framework that would be applicable to Financial Services Providers (FSPs) that provide financial services in relation to Crypto Assets.
This document relates to the publication of the Declaration of a Crypto Asset as a Financial Product (Declaration) under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (Act No. 37 of 2002) (FAIS Act). The Declaration was published on 19 October 2022 in the Government Gazette as well as the Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA) website.
The purpose of this document is to provide background to and contextualise the Declaration, as well as an overview of the consultation process that was followed when making the Declaration.
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
The FAIS Act (Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services) is yet another piece of legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with. If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
You need to be aware of General Notices that are gazetted by relevant regulators, such as the FSCA.
As an auditor and independent reviewer, you need to consider whether your clients have correctly accounted for and disclosed crypto assets correctly in their financial statements.
As an accountant, you need to consider the proper disclosure of crypto assets for entities that you are compiling financial statements for.
Relevance to Your clients:
An entity (company or close corporation) has a duty to comply with the FAIS Act, and must ensure that Crypto Assets are correctly disclosed in their financial statements.
Entities should be aware of General Notices that are gazetted, as well as other publications by relevant regulators, such as the FSCA.
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