This past week, I had the privilege of representing Fica Friendly at the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) AGM and Conference in Cape Town, engaging with legal practitioners on FICA compliance and its practical implementation.
A consistent theme emerged: there is a strong willingness within the profession to comply but many firms, particularly smaller practices, face real challenges in translating legislative requirements into practical, inspection-ready implementation.
These challenges are often driven by:
- Difficulty applying a proportionate, risk-based approach in practice
- Time and capacity constraints within smaller firms
- Uncertainty in operationalising compliance requirements into day-to-day processes
This is particularly significant given the dual role legal practitioners play in: Providing access to justice to millions of ordinary South Africans, and Acting as a critical line of defence against ML/TF/PF risks.
I must commend the LSSA for taking FICA compliance seriously and making provision for meaningful engagement on these issues for the benefit of its constituency— particularly in light of the increasing number of inspections, the significant focus on the legal sector which accounts for close to 50% of all Financial Intelligence Centre inspections, and South Africa’s ongoing efforts to strengthen AML/CFT effectiveness in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) requirements.
What stood out most was the openness of practitioners to engage, ask questions, and actively seek solutions.
There is a clear opportunity to strengthen practical implementation across the sector through more structured, accessible, and real-time support.
Grateful for the engagement and looking forward to continuing to support the profession in closing these gaps.
#FICA #AML #Compliance #LegalProfession #RiskManagement #LSSA #SouthAfrica