Anti-money laundering compliance can feel like a long list of disconnected obligations. In practice, however, most accountancy practices, bookkeeping firms and tax advisers can think about AML compliance as twelve core elements.
There is so much going on in the world of AML for accountants, bookkeepers, tax advisers, auditors and TCSPs at the moment that I thought this month I needed to provide an update on several areas.
Fraud is reported to be the most common crime in the UK. Fraud by an employee is particularly damaging to your client’s business. The impact is not just financial – it’s also emotional and immediate.
Updates on three key topics – amendments to MLR 2017, the implementation by Companies House of the changes being made under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, and the transfer of AML supervision of accountants, bookkeepers, tax advisers and TCSPs to the FCA.
What should you do – and what should you NOT do – if the police turn up at your office asking questions about one of your clients? Most accountants would be troubled by a visit from a police officer and would not know how they ought to deal with this.
The government worries about accountants, bookkeepers, insolvency practitioners (and other professionals) who may be ‘professional enablers’. The term ‘professional enabler’ is used by government and law enforcement to refer to honest accountants whose services are abused by criminals.
Companies House ID verification has been fully operational since 18 November 2025 – just over six weeks now. So how is it going? I don’t think it’s going too well.
From 18 November 2025 there have been important changes introduced by UK Companies House. This blog summarises the key features of the most important changes.
The existing arrangements for AML supervision by 22 private sector professional bodies and HMRC are to be swept away. Instead AML supervision will be provided by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) whose remit is to be extended to cover these practitioners.
How to find your Companies House personal ID verification code.
Two new criminal offences based on ‘failure to prevent’ have been introduced into UK law.
Why was the law changed, what are these two new offences, and how relevant are they to accountants and bookkeepers in practice?
The UK government has recently published an updated National Risk Assessment; there are ten pages of particular interest to accountants, bookkeepers and tax advisers.
More changes are planned to the MLR 2017. The government has announced that the Regulations will be amended before the end of 2025. What might those changes involve?
Two years ago I wrote a blog on here about software supporting AML compliance but a lot has changed since then, including the advances in AML compliance software and the changes being introduced by Companies House.
As accountants, bookkeepers or tax advisers in the UK we have a legal obligation to report suspicions of money laundering based on information which has come to us in the course of our work. But what is the meaning of money laundering in UK law?
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