In September the Prudential Authority fined Capitec R28 million, and by the bank's own account, not a cent was laundered. It was punished for something quieter: it could not prove its controls were working. If that can happen to a bank, ask what it means for a practice of one. Under FICA, the duty to report a suspicious client is yours, personally. No proof required. Suspicion is enough. Your honest clients are not your defence. Your paper trail is.

Most ethical failures in accounting do not begin with fraud or deliberate dishonesty. They begin with small decisions that feel harmless at the time. A client asks for a favour. A number is adjusted to solve a short term problem. Something does not feel right, but it seems easier to stay quiet than to create conflict. These moments may appear insignificant, yet they are often where reputations begin to unravel. When ethical boundaries become unclear, clients stop seeing the accountant as an independent professional and start seeing someone they can pressure, negotiate with, or blame when things go wrong.