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Kathryn Vincent

What is Anti Money Laundering (AML)?



If you deal with a bookkeeper or an accountant you may hear them mention the term AML. AML is Anti Money Laundering. Anyone who deals with the finances of another individual or business is highly likely to be required to register with a supervisory authority to comply with Anti Money Laundering regulations. This is to ensure that the business is a legitimate business and all money coming into the business is accounted for.


Laundering money is a criminal offence to try and clean up money which has been obtained by illegal activity. As a bookkeeper we must have due diligence when it comes to dealing with business finances. Under the supervision of the ICB we must verify your identity and complete a risk assessment in order to prove we are complying to AML regulations before taking on your bookkeeping tasks.


When you come on board with us as a new client, we will ask you for 2 forms of identity, one being a photo ID such as your passport and driving licence and the other being proof of address. This can be a utility bill or bank statement but must be dated within the last 3 months. We will require this information for every company director in the business and people who have significant control.


Once we have this information from you we will run an AML identity check through our software, which is very safe and secure and your details will be stored on our system, in case we should ever be inspected. We are obliged to ask for certain AML information every year from you, so don’t be alarmed if you receive a request to repeat this process again, it’s just a formality.


If you have any questions about this process then please just ask! We’re very friendly and approachable.




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