Supervisory functions currently handled by 22 professional organisations, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), will be transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

This move will establish a Single Professional Services Supervisor (SPSS) under the FCA’s authority. While a specific timeline has not yet been announced, these changes will directly impact accountancy firms and Chartered Accountants (CAs) who are currently supervised by professional bodies.

Bruce Cartwright CA, CEO at ICAS, said: “We are surprised that the government has decided to transfer AML/CTF supervisory functions to the FCA. ICAS, alongside other professional bodies, has made a significant investment in supervision over recent years, with evidence to support a corresponding increase in effectiveness.

“As set out in our response to the consultation, while we agree that the current approach could be improved, we believe that the better course of action would be to maintain progress through evolution of the existing supervisory framework.”

Robert Mudge, executive director of professional standards at ICAS, added: “There is a real risk here that a period of uncertainty could have a detrimental impact on the UK’s ability to combat financial crime.

“Government reform proposals in other areas remain outstanding many years after they were announced – if the same happens here then the outcomes could be extremely serious from a public interest perspective.”