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New Anti Money Laundering and Compliance Qualifications Rolled Out in Hong Kong

International Compliance Association
2011-09-21 10:45 5947

HONG KONG, Sept. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- One of the world's leading professional training organisations, the International Compliance Association (ICA), is rolling out new professional courses and qualifications to cater for the increased demand for qualified compliance and regulatory experts in Hong Kong's financial services sector, with extensive local market content and context.

The programmes will encompass international best-practice in regulatory compliance, anti-money laundering, risk management and corporate governance, and will form part of a growing Asian presence for the ICA. Both Diplomas will begin in late 2011 and will be aimed at professionals with backgrounds in legal, compliance and regulatory backgrounds.

The two core courses are:

  1. ICA International Diploma in Anti-Money Laundering, providing comprehensive knowledge and skills in anti money laundering strategies, frameworks and vulnerabilities for the Hong Kong market and beyond which will benefit Money Laundering Reporting Officers, risk managers and internal audit staff.
  2. The ICA International Diploma in Compliance will attract participants from risk, compliance and legal functions who seek to further enhance their knowledge of the Hong Kong compliance and regulatory environment, key compliance issues and how the compliance function can add real value to financial firms.

"Our expansion into Hong Kong is a clear response to the changing local regulatory environment and increased demand from local financial institutions of all sizes and activities who are committed to developing their regulatory staff," said Andrew Glover, Regional Director of the International Compliance Association. "Hong Kong continues to be one of the world's premier financial centres, with a heightened focus on AML and Compliance in recent years - establishing new courses here makes great long term sense for the ICA."

The International Diploma in Compliance has been available in Hong Kong for eight years and the ICA has a presence in Singapore, where they have been offering professional standards courses in Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance for over four years. During this time, the Singapore office has developed compliance training programmes with Government bodies including the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The Hong Kong courses will be run in partnership with Courses & Seminars, a locally-based company which has a strong track record providing continuous professional training for legal, corporate, financial and other professional sectors.

Yvonne Ho, Founder and MD of Courses & Seminars added: "Even now, the new regulatory burden on financial services companies requires many companies to hire costly external advisors. We are convinced that Hong Kong companies want increasingly more in-house regulatory expertise and want to close the gap of professionally qualified practitioners. These new Diplomas recognise such knowledge and skills, and qualify all graduates to the highest standards - leveraging ICA's track record globally and that of their associate academic institution - the University of Manchester Business School."

Andrew Glover concluded, "Regulation will pay an increased part in all of our lives from now onwards - those companies that embrace the idea and take the time to hire and train staff will be better placed to meet future regulatory obligations and manage their business to best practice."

The ICA and Courses & Seminars will be hosting a briefing event on 21st September at the Courses and Seminars Training Centre, 22nd floor, 100 Queens Road Central, Hong Kong between 6.30pm and 8pm for those interested in finding out more information on the courses. Registration for the diplomas is open until 31st October, with workshops commencing on 24th November for the Compliance Diploma and 1st December for the Anti-Money Laundering Diploma.

For further information visit - http://courses-seminars.com/cs or www.int-comp.org  

Media Contacts:

Sophie Sophaon
Walek & Associates (Hong Kong)
Direct: +852-2273-5102
Cell: +852-6112-7553
Email: ssophaon@walek.com

Steve McCool
Hume Brophy
Direct:  +44-20-3440-5660
Cell: +44-790-991-4343
Email: steve.mccool@humebrophy.com

Source: International Compliance Association
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