GoProposal enters the AML arena

The new product, GoProposal AML, offers customers one tool to cover a broad range of anti-money laundering (AML) requirements for new and existing clients and bolsters GoProposal’s previous risk and Know Your Customer (KYC) assessment tools, which covered only part of the core AML process.

The solution offers three levels of ID verification checks to accompany GoProposal’s existing proposal and pricing and engagement letter modules, allowing customers to benefit from what the vendor describes as “streamlined client onboarding”. 

“In our experience, most accountants and bookkeepers use two to four systems to onboard new clients, with different proposal, risk assessment and ID checks and systems being the most common,” Danielle Fisher, GoProposal’s AML lead told AccountingWEB. “We’re now providing one single place where firms can streamline their AML processes for new and existing clients and save time on compliance without hopping between different onboarding solutions.”

Verification check levels: An overview

The three levels start with a simple checking facility and increase to more enhanced checks. The type of check a firm chooses to select is likely to depend on whether it stores photocopies of identity evidence, how virtual its work setting is and how available they are to visit clients and verify their identity.

Basic check: Designed for firms that meet clients face to face and store photocopies of evidence, this option runs Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and sanctions checks, verifies dates of birth and addresses, and scans for adverse media flags. However, it does not collect, store or verify IDs.

Document check: In addition to the basic check functions (as above), this option allows users to automatically collect, store and verify the authenticity of clients’ ID documentation in a single check. It does not include facial similarity technology that checks if the person supplying the document is the individual on the document. This type of ID check is likely to be suitable for firms that plan to meet clients in person to confirm facial similarity but cannot do so immediately, or where a firm is happy to meet the client virtually to confirm their identity – although as GoProposal outlines in an FAQ document, the suitability of virtual meetings for ID verification is a much-debated topic and should be confirmed with the firm’s relevant governing body.

The document checks are completed via a client-facing web portal that can be branded with the firm’s details, with real-time guidance to support the user submitting their documentation.

Biometric check: This final check offers verification when face-to-face interactions are not possible or practical. It collects, verifies and stores clients’ ID documentation, ensuring all documents are original and not fraudulent, and confirms the person’s identity using facial similarity technologies. Delivered in partnership with AML provider Thirdfort, the biometric check option requires clients to log in to an app to upload their documentation, with real-time guidance and built-in checks from the app for common failure points such as cut-off and glare.

Chasers, reminders and annual reviews

Document and Biometric checks are initiated by the accountant or bookkeeper entering a client’s (or potential client’s) phone number and email into the GoProposal system. Communications can be automatically triggered by a proposal acceptance from the client, but the checks aren’t tied to the proposal process and can be run manually at any time.

The client then receives an email or text prompting them to start their AML check, and clients can log in to the portal (or app in the case of the biometric check) via a link. 

Users can set up automatic reminders to go out to clients who have not completed their AML documentation and can monitor the status of checks via the GoProposal Contact Hub.

Once a client has completed the process, accountant and bookkeeper users are then fed back the full ID report.

GoProposal by Sage

For existing clients, the system can be set to remind firms of the need to review assessments every one to three years (depending on its policies). GoProposal AML provides risk assessment templates designed for annual renewals, which can assist in this process and offer guidance for when a more enhanced check may be required (for example, when a new director is added or the client changes the way it operates).

Evidence of this type of system may help firms during practice assurance visits or period AML reviews from professional bodies.

In terms of pricing, accountants and bookkeepers need a GoProposal subscription to access the new AML solution, after which the checks are paid for on an individual basis at the following rates (correct at the time of writing):

• Basic check – £2 per check (including PEP and sanctions check plus address match)
• Document check – £5.80 per check (including document verification, PEP and sanctions check plus address match)
• Biometric – £10.85 (including facial similarity, document verification, PEP and sanctions check plus address match)
• Users looking to verify international client identity and international client address can do so for an additional fee of £9.95.

GoProposal was acquired by Sage in October 2021, and the vendor’s new AML solution is the latest in the vendor’s efforts to build an integrated suite of diverse products for its accounting customers. This also includes the acquisition of data extraction and analysis tool AutoEntry and forecasting and planning tool Futrli.

 Join AML expert David Winch, Samantha Nelmes, director at LilyIris Accounting, and Danielle Fisher from GoProposal on an AccountingWEB webinar on 6 September where they will be exploring ways to manage AML processes and how you can use tech to simplify onboarding for new clients. Book your place today.