Anti money laundering (AML) audits
Are you monitoring the adequacy and effectiveness of your anti-money laundering policies and procedures by conducting a Regulation 21 independent audit?
Only the very smallest practices will not have to establish an independent audit function and yet, according to the SRA’s November 2020 report Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Visits 2019-2020, more than 50% of the firms visited required follow-up action on this issue.
If the SRA visited your firm, would you be confident you would not fall into that group?
While ‘independent’ does not necessarily mean the anti money laundering audit has to be carried out by someone external to the firm, you will need to be satisfied that you have someone suitable to carry out the AML audit within your firm who:
- has the requisite knowledge of the requirements of the anti-money laundering regulations;
- is a senior member of the firm who does not carry out regulated work;
- is not involved in maintaining the anti-money laundering framework; and
- has the necessary time and capacity to carry out the audit.
Such a person is not always easy to find! This is where Compli can help.
Compli’s anti-money laundering audit service includes:
- A review of your risk assessments, policies and procedures to check compliance with the most recent anti-money laundering regulations/directives and SRA guidance
- Interviews of key staff, including your MLRO/MLCO and heads of departments carrying out regulated work
- File reviews to confirm that policies, controls and procedures are being followed and are serving their intended purpose
- A report detailing our findings and any recommendations which we will discuss with you
The audit will, at least for the foreseeable future, be carried out remotely, which will be less disruptive and less time consuming to the firm and only involve those relevant members of the firm for a relatively short period.
What you will benefit from by using Compli:
- Guaranteed independence
- Legal professional privilege and confidentiality
- Advice and recommendations from anti-money laundering compliance experts
- Documented audit trail demonstrating compliance
- Benchmarking to demonstrate year on year improvements
The SRA will continue to visit firms to check compliance with the anti-money laundering regulations and the adequacy and effectiveness of policies and procedures, so don’t delay! Book your independent audit with the Compli team now.
Complete the form below for a free, no obligation discussion.
Key contacts
