Internal Audit & Controls

Sapia to Pay £19.6 Million to WealthTek Clients as FCA Rebukes Firm Over Client Money Failures

Sapia will pay more than £19.6 million to clients of WealthTek after UK regulators found the firm failed to put adequate safeguards around client money, exposing customers to the risk of loss.

What Is in the Future for Internal Auditing?

In this article, Norman Marks explores what the future holds for internal auditing as AI, automation, and rapidly evolving business processes begin to reshape the very foundations of risk and control. Drawing on a real-world anecdote, he challenges auditors to rethink not just their tools, but their purpose, urging the profession to move beyond incremental change and confront the deeper question of what meaningful assurance looks like in a world where the rules are being rewritten in real time.

New Zealand Flags Weak Spots in Financial Reporting as Uncertainty Builds

New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority has flagged ongoing weaknesses in financial reporting disclosures, even as overall standards remain high and filing timeliness shows signs of improvement.

FRC Sets Guardrails for AI in Audit While Keeping Responsibility Firmly Human

The Financial Reporting Council has published new guidance aimed at helping audit firms navigate the rapid adoption of generative and agentic artificial intelligence, marking what it describes as the first such guidance from any audit regulator globally.

Macquarie Securities Ordered to Pay $23 Million Over Years of Short Sale Misreporting

Macquarie Securities has been ordered to pay about $23 million ($35 million AUD) after Australia’s New South Wales Supreme Court found the firm responsible for years of inaccurate short sale reporting caused by failures in its internal systems and controls.

The Overlooked Governance Problem Regulators Have Yet to Tackle

In a recent LinkedIn post, I posed a question that has quietly lingered in governance circles for years. If courts in the United States have already made clear that boards are expected to oversee risks tied to Mission Critical Objectives, why haven’t regulators directly addressed deficient board oversight in this area?

Sweden’s Financial Regulator Investigates Handelsbanken Over Money Laundering Controls

Sweden’s financial regulator has launched an investigation into Svenska Handelsbanken to determine whether the bank has met its obligations under anti-money laundering rules.