The International Compliance Association and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus partnership to focus on raising educational and professional standards in compliance

23 May 2018

The International Compliance Association (ICA) announces its partnership with the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC), thus sparking an exciting three year period of activity for both associations.

The partnership comes with the desire to develop a professional relationship between the two bodies to promote the collective endeavour of professionalism of compliance officers. The ICA and ICPAC will seek to establish an educational and research partnership, which provides immense benefits to members of both organisations.

The ICA is delighted to be working in conjunction with the body that actively promotes the joint educational events and activities of the associations as well as the provision of educational consultancy services and, studies joint participation in research and development programmes and the exchange of thought-leadership content. As part of this partnership, ICPAC members will benefit from a 30% discount on ICA Membership giving them direct access to a wealth of CPD content and educational material via the Member portal.

The educational partnership continues with hot topic sessions. These will take place in Limassol and Nicosia exclusively for ICPAC members bi-annually.

Established in 1961, ICPAC currently has more than 3600 professional accountants as members and 3000 students. With this, principal objectives include the provision of an organisational framework for all professional accountants, the support and the promotion of the activities and interests of the accountancy profession, safeguarding the reputation of the profession and adherence to the Code of Ethics by all its members, as well as the continuous professional development and updating of members on issues relevant to accounting, auditing and other business matters.

The Code of Ethics of both ICA and ICPAC are closely aligned, thus ensuring global best practice and ethical excellence for all members. The partnership will provide the importance of achieving these objectives by going beyond meeting regulatory requirements and setting the standards for regulatory compliance. Due to the close alignment of values, the ICA is delighted to announce that ICPAC will be a member of the technical advisory board.

Bill Howarth, President of the ICA, commented ‘ICA is committed to ensuring that compliance professionals working in all sectors have expert knowledge and skills to undertake their roles with competence and professionalism. Organisations that embrace a culture of compliance also realise a substantial commercial benefit from reduced costs, enhanced reputation and retention, and acquisition of both customers and staff. As ever, we are delighted to be working with our local partner, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus, ensuring that best practice compliance becomes the international benchmark.’

Marios Skandalis, President of ICPAC stated ‘As ICPAC sets the highest international standards of conduct and governance for its members, we exclusively collaborate with international institutions that resemble such standards.  Our recent affiliation with ICA in the UK will provide our members with the necessary tools, certification and competency, not only to meet their compliance requirements but to set a benchmark of quality service.’

The partnership with ICPAC is part of the ICA’s global growth plans. 2017/2018 has seen a substantial expansion for the organisation, with partnerships formed in seven jurisdictions, including Lebanon, Brunei and New Zealand to name a few.

Find out more here.

NOTE FOR EDITORS

About the ICA

ICA is a global professional membership and awarding body. The ICA  is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in anti-money laundering, legal and regulatory compliance, financial crime prevention and the management of regulatory risk through certificated qualifications and knowledge transfer. Working within a variety of sectors, ICA helps individuals, firms, regulatory and government institutions, across a range of geographical jurisdictions and industry sectors to develop best practice in the management of risk.

Press contact

Jennifer Trenery

jennifer.trenery@int-comp.com