AAT praised in fight against Anti-Money Laundering

The Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (OPBAS) has said that AAT has made significant progress in its contribution to Anti-Money Laundering (AML).

In a new report, OPBAS says it is encouraged by progress in AAT’s approach to AML and counter-terrorism financing since it last visited in 2018. It noted improvements in governance and guidance to members and highlighted significant improvements in the following areas:

• AAT’s risk-based approach that effectively prioritises our anti-money laundering (AML) supervisory and enforcement work;

• providing information and guidance for members to help them understand their high-level obligations;

• the quality and accuracy of information and guidance;

• information sharing between supervisors and public authorities. 

AAT welcomes the recognition by OPBAS of the measures put in place to demonstrate our continued commitment to delivering on our responsibilities as an AML professional supervisory body.

AAT aims to have the greatest possible impact on the prevention of money laundering through its supervision of AAT members, helping to make the UK an inhospitable place for criminals.

AAT Professional Standards Policy Development Manager, Jackson Quaker, comments:

“The last 18 months have been a difficult period for AAT members with the ongoing impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) and with regulatory changes having a significant impact on general practice, particularly with regards to the Money Laundering Regulations.

“We are pleased by recognition of our response to Covid-19 and our supervisory activities by OPBAS. As cited in the report, AAT has shown effectiveness in amending our approach to factor in pandemic-specific challenges, such as providing updated guidance on alternative methods of customer due diligence verification and with our supervisory review processes.”

As highlighted in its annual AML report, AAT is pleased to find many examples through its supervisory work that show how AAT members embrace the risk-based approach to AML and make full use of AAT’s resources to assist in their compliance.

AAT is committed to evolving its approach to supervision, using a wide range of methods to enrich understanding of risks, drive more effective supervision and ensure that standards are being met and maintained.

Help improve the SARs online portal 

As part of the SARs online programme, the NCA is replacing the current SAR online portal. The changes are not due to go live until next year and AAT will keep you informed of the progress.  Please see SAR Online demo – YouTube to get a feel for how it will look, the reasons for the changes and how they can help improve financial crime intelligence.

As part of this planned rollout, the NCA is looking to recruit volunteers for the SAR Online Portal testing. If you would like to find out more about planned user testing and get involved, please contact [email protected].

AAT Comment offers news and opinion on the world of business and finance from the Association of Accounting Technicians.