The first thing we would advise a business to do is to check their current practices and procedures, as you need to keep risks to a minimum and make sure that you have appropriate monitoring and training of staff at all levels in place. The Act states that owners and managers themselves are responsible for preventing their staff, external agents and consultants from committing tax evasion. The bigger the business, the higher the risk that an activity may occur and be caught. Try our Criminal Finance Act Assessment Tool to get an idea of how your business measures up.
Where someone associated with the business has criminally helped a tax evasion offence, the business needs to prove that they have taken adequate measures to prevent this in their risk assessment. They can do this by applying what are called the 6 guiding principles. A business could only add a statutory defence to the new corporate offence if they can show evidence that they have assessed and applied these 6 principles.
The 6 guiding principles defined by HMRC are:
Risk assessment
Proportionality of risk-based prevention procedures
Top level commitment
Due diligence
Communication (including training)
Monitoring and review
Dains Compliance & Risk service
We recommend starting with the Risk Assessment element of the six guiding principles, before deciding whether to apply the remaining 5.
Having a risk assessment will make sure your business applies a risk-based and proportionate approach.
As part of our service we can offer the following:
A revision of an existing policy, or a short form policy statement relating to the Act
A risk workshop to identify processes which will need amendment or redrafting and we’ll work with you to make sure that you reduce your exposure to risk
Revisions for service, employment contracts and Terms of Business. We can also provide revision to HR related documents, for example the Disciplinary Policy, Grievance Policy, Whistleblowing Policy and the Employee Handbook
Support for top-level management to foster a culture in which activity intended to enable tax evasion is never acceptable
Working with the business to ensure that its prevention policies and procedures are communicated throughout the organisation, utilising internal and external communication (intranet/website/email) including training where needed
Reviewing the business and adopting due diligence procedures with access to our tax professionals
Not taken our Criminal Finance Act Assessment yet? Find out your score instantly, it only takes a few minutes.
Should you need further information, or are interested in developing your organisations' stance against the Criminal Finance Act, please email Heidi Webster
Further Information:
HMRC has issued guidance and factsheets on how the new rules work in practice:
