IFAC issues white paper on money laundering.

To help efforts to combat money laundering, the International Federation of Accountants has released a white paper on the subject for dissemination to its 156 member organizations and their 2.4 million accountants (www.ifac.org). The paper explores the role of all accountants -- whether they act as independent auditors, accountants in management positions or in any other professional capacity -- in ongoing public- and private-sector efforts to safeguard against money laundering. It also is designed to highlight potential indications of the crime and to increase awareness of how professional obligations with respect to money laundering relate to and interact with corruption and transparency, privacy and consumer protection and the professional services provided by accountants. The paper draws attention to numerous risks that could lead to or reveal money-laundering situations and provides best practices to help accountants address those risks.