I find complying with all the MLR's a tedious & time consuming exercise - guess I'm not alone on that score!
All businesses in the accounting sector need to have a AML Policy in force. I just wondered if anyone knew of a simple and clear sample document, aimed at a small one man accountancy practice, that others could adapt and incorporate in their own businesses.
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Thanks David ....
... appreciate the link but I am trying to keep my costs down as much as possible, still smarting from having to fork out £120pa to HMRC and getting nothing in return.
I know that amount is a drop in the ocean for larger practices who pay a great deal more to their professional bodies but mine is a very small business on a tight budget.
Seems absurd to me that even a small one man business needs to have a written AML policy but I guess I'll have knuckle down and draft one out so I can distribute it to myself in order to comply.
Thanks again for the link, I'll give it further thought.
In a similar boat but I used Legatio's KYC docs
This includes all the docs you need if you buy online checks. I bought 15 checks for £60 (+ Vat I assume) and they last forever, and I got the docs and useful risk assessment checklist. Worth it for me.
http://kyc.legatio.com/index.php?level=5
Or you can buy the docs alone for £60+VAt per annum.
Thanks Luke ....
... ..... seems to cover all the bases but my point is that for a small one man business is all that really necessary.
Assuming you are a small one man business I would be interested in knowing just how much of what you have purchased is actually needed by your particular business to comply.
Thanks again for your input.
Adaptable AML policy for sole practioners
I am wholeheartedly with you on this. I just want a policy that I can adapt to suit my business. I think even £60 is a bit steep for what would be probably 2 sheets of A4.
I feel strongly that the institutes should be doing more about this.
Not a lot of it is necessary, you're right
I felt quite naffed off having to pay to get a pointless policy etc. (Sorry ftax, your policy is great), but surely the Institutes should be helping here.
The risk assessment checklist is useful though and gives me some comfort that I am assessing the risks on a valid and justifiable basis, and not just "well they seem alright to me" basis. I do occasionally use the online checks too, most interesting to do myself - it is nice to know that I am a valid person but so apparantly are the people who we bought the house from 9 years ago, and according to some databases still live here which is scary.
To be honest, I had a practice assurance visit from ICAEW last year, and unless I wanted to lie about policies etc I had to get the anti money laundering bits put on a more formal footing. I had always felt that I complied with the spirit of the legislation but not necessarily with the paperwork side, now I do and that does give me some comfort.
Jenny
Check out the fraud advisory panel's website where they have guidance on all sorts of fraud and anti-money laundering matters, much of which is aimed at small and medium enterprises, and you can download them for free.
How topical
In this morning's post I have received a 2 page questionnaire from the HMRC Central Intervention Team who want to ensure my complaince with MLR2007. And after I've filled it in they may ring to talk about my obligations and procedures.
They state that "it is our recommendation that relevant businesses should have a written risk assessment and policy statement" and that if I have such documents then I am to send them with my questionnaire. And if I can demonstrate via such documents that I have given proper consideration to my obligations then they may not need to call me.
Now I'm a one (wo)man band with 6 bookkeeping/accounting clients - all who I've either known/worked with for 10+ years or who have been referred to me by local accountants that I share mutual clients with.
So I obviously now need to formalise my existent, but informal, procedures to jump through some hoops.
SIGH. As if I don't have enough to do with school holidays starting today and clients that continue to work through this period!
Tracy
Cheap in the Long Run?
We have for many years operated agencies for building societies and banks. During this time we have had no alternative but to work to extremely exacting AML standards or fail internal audits for which there would have been a financial penalty. We have always adopted these exacting standards for AML within our practice too.
Whilst I can certainly undertand that, for the uninitiated, AML compliance from scratch is daunting, the 'proof of the pudding' will be dependant on when and if the system is policed by HMRC and what standards they determine are acceptable. I am not, so far, impressed by the suggestion that it currently is or will be policed in the future.
You might find that £120 is extremely good value in the long run. Needless to say, there are many practices (I even know of some myself) who just haven't raised their game, even if they bothered to register for AML.
It's a bit like the Disability Discrimination Act, those like us who complied and made our premises DDA compliant are not 'happy bunnies' that those who didn't have not been inspected or penalised. I suspect that the same may well apply to A ML, the problem is that if I am wrong, you won't easily be able to cover your tracks.
Hope I haven't missed something
I am an ICAEW member and my recollection is that for a sole practitioner with no staff then no written procedures are necessary. I hope this hasn't changed! It seems like a common-sense approach to me.
So this means that HMRC are "recommending" that someone registered with them has written procedures whilst the ICAEW do not have this requirement. Gold-plating?
Tim
Since When.......................
Since when have HMRC or professional bodies adopted a practical, common sense or unified approach?
Welcome to the real world pal.
Sole trader with no staff
The requirement to "establish and maintain appropriate and risk-sensitive policies and procedures" is in Regulation 20(1) MLR 2007.
By Reg 20(2)(d) the organisation is required to appoint an MLRO to whom employees must report their suspicions of money laundering. But Reg 20(3) says that Reg 20(2)(d) does not apply "where the relevant person is an individual who neither employs nor acts in association with any other person". The fairly obvious reason for that is that there are no employees to make reports to the MLRO. The sole trader with no staff therefore makes his reports to SOCA rather than to the firm's MLRO.
But a sole trader with no staff is still required to comply with the remainder of Reg 20 and therefore is required to establish the necessary money laundering policies and procedures.
This is dealt with in para 3.7 of the ICAEW AML Guidance.
Obviously (I hope) on any inspection by a supervisory authority one will be able to show that one has complied with one's own policies and procedures and that those policies and procedures in turn are sufficient to ensure compliance with the MLR 2007 and s330 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
David
Anti money laundering (AML) compliance software
Our "Anti Money Laundering Compliance Plus" software is a fully automated system that allows you to record all the AML data for all your clients plus it deals with all other aspects of AML compliance. It guides you through the process of compliance, highlighting which areas are non-compliant/require action.
The software is far more than a series of checklists:
The software provides expert help, hand-holding and "wizards" within the software as to what is required to achieve complianceIncludes built-in Electronic ID checks at reasonable costCovers all aspects of compliance recording and monitoring including: Details of all clientsKnow Your Customer informationRisk AssessmentRecording of associated persons of all clients together with supporting ID checksFirm’s Policies & ProceduresStaff trainingStaff confirmations of money laundering awarenessRecording suspicions and reporting to the MLRODetailed help filesBuilt-in facility to download and search the regulations and key guidance notesBuilt-in facility to download and search the latest HM Treasury’s Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets in the UKAutomatically identifies non-compliant areas and highlights the actions required in order to prevent non-complianceScans and saves supporting documents within the software or attaches existing supporting documentsFull integration with PC Share Register Plus, company secretarial software and also Sage Cosec softwareInbuilt free Companies House check of company dataEasy import of client records from other software via generic CSV files from other software packages
Take a look at the short videos on the website that will give you an insight into the way it works - see www.amlcplus.co.uk/videos.htm See also the list of features - www.amlcplus.co.uk/features.htm
The system has inbuilt ID checks (including PEP/Sancions checks) supplied by GB Group at £3.00 per check and inbuilt PEP/Sanctions checks only at £1.25 per check, with no minimum usage requirement - see www.amlcplus.co.uk/AMLSearch.htm
Pricing is according to the number of clients and starts at £95 p.a. - see www.amlcplus.co.uk/pricing.htm
In order to evaluate the software you can download a copy and run it as an evaluation copy with no time limit - see www.amlcplus.co.uk/download.htm
The software has been developed in conjunction with a leading provider of UK Money Laundering Compliance expertise, SWAT UK Limited, in order to ensure that the software achieves all its objectives and to provide the expert help etc. within the software.
Ian Burgess
BHIS Ltd.
Good afternoon all
Can anyone recommend an AML Policy document for a sole trader please?
I have the risk assessments covered by Xama Technology, so want to ensure I comply with all
Many thanks
Olivia