AML quiz: Identify and respond to money laundering risks

The new NCA SAR portal enables more comprehensive reporting by AML regulated professionals, including accountants.

“Historically, it's not been intuitive and easy to submit SARs,” says IFA Acting Director of Professional Standards Tim Pinkney. “The new portal is far more intuitive.”

But ease of reporting is just one piece of the puzzle. Recent IFA reviews found that 38 per cent of firms are not compliant with AML regulations, and Pinkney believes part of the problem is a lack of knowledge about when reporting is necessary, and difficulty balancing client loyalty and the need to submit a SAR.

The IFA provides support to help with that via technical resources, regular webinars and via email at aml@ifa.org.uk.

“In most cases, anyone inquiring regarding whether they need to submit a SAR already knows what they should do, but they're looking for confirmation,” Pinkney says. “If you’ve formed a suspicion, then you have grounds for suspicion and you should be submitting that report.”

Another part of the puzzle, he says, is adequate processes and procedures for identifying and assessing money laundering risk.

“As 83% of IFA firms that we supervise are sole practitioners, they're on their own. Some of our firms do have a few staff but, generally speaking, they still lack day-to-day peer and industry interaction,” Pinkney says.

“So they struggle to prioritise development of policies and procedures for firm-wide risk assessment and due diligence measures.”

To assess your ability to identify and respond to money laundering risk, take our six-scenario quiz.