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Don’t Panic - Get Expert Support with SRA AML Inspections

We provide prompt and proven fixed fee guidance and support, before or after an SRA AML Inspection.

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Responding to SRA AML Inspections

Has Your Firm:

Been informed that the SRA is going to conduct an Inspection of your firm and has issued you with a document request.
Already received an SRA Inspection and are now required by the SRA to take remedial action
Been referred by the SRA to their investigations team?

If you have, don’t panic. Our highly experienced AML consultants are here to support you.

From explaining what happens next, to evaluating if your existing controls are up to date and in keeping with SRA expectations, we turn an otherwise stressful situation not only into a manageable one, but an opportunity to improve your processes and controls for the future.

What To Do Next?

These situations naturally trigger concern and it can be challenging to determine as to where to start. And, on top of that, there’s the pressure of the typically short timescales involved.

Understanding the landscape and expectations is key to establishing your approach to an Inspection and how to manage them.

We have helped dozens of firms and their AML Officers as they deal with SRA AML Inspections. This insight enables us to provide meaningful first-hand guidance and direct support.

In general, the earlier we are involved, the more help we can provide.

How We Help

First and foremost, be assured that experienced help is at hand.

Just give us a call on 01423 275365. A senior member of our friendly team will discuss the content of the letter or email that you have received from the SRA, and will ask you a few questions to build up a picture of the situation.

Within that first telephone call we will calmly provide insight as to how matters are likely to progress, what the firm should aim to do and an outline schedule/plan of action to be taken.

We can also provide detail, then and there, as to our fees for providing further support.

The type of support will depend upon the progress of the SRA Inspection to date.

Pre-Inspection Support

The letter/email notification from the SRA will tell you what they are intending to see and inspect.

For a desktop Inspection, this often includes key documents, such as:

your Firm-Wide Risk Assessment,
your AML policy/procedures,
your Proliferation Financing risk assessment,
a copy of your client matter risk assessment form, and
information on staff training.
It might also include detail from your most recent Independent AML Audit.

The SRA might also ask for statistical information on the numbers and types of matter that your firm is processing. It might also require to peruse a number of matter files in due course.

What We Will Do for You

We will peruse key documents before you send them to the SRA and provide feedback on gaps or concerns.

Time permitting, we would help you to then fill the gaps in the existing documents or we can redraft whole documents for you.

The extent of what can be done will depend upon how much time there is before the deadline for the submission of documents. When the ‘chips have been down’, we have drafted whole documents from scratch, in a week.

And, we can provide you with guidance as you prepare your response letter/email to the SRA.

Book your free Initial consultation today

No two firms have the same risk profile, ever.

As with everything else that we do at PDA, we never use or supply raw templates; they invite trouble because they will not provide an accurate picture of the controls and unique risk profile at your firm.

Moreover, just like us, regulators can spot a raw template from a mile away and might take that as a cue to dig deeper.

Post-Inspection Support

Having conducted an initial Inspection, the SRA will usually write to you again, to inform you as to their findings in an outcome letter.

Sometimes, this communication will make helpful suggestions for enhancements that the firm should make or might like to consider.

On the other hand, the SRA could require corrective action to take place, and the outcome letter might include notice that the matter has been passed onto the SRA’s Investigations team.

In this situation, the outcome letter will often set out what needs to be done in the form of a ‘compliance plan’.

The compliance plan includes the dates by which it expects the firm to submit evidence back to the SRA. Some of these deadlines can be quite short.

The corrective action might include updating key documents, updating client matter risk assessments, providing training to staff, submitting evidence that records on specific matter files have been updated.

PDA Prepares the Documents With You

We will conduct a series of telephone or Teams calls with your AML Officer(s) where we will ask a series of structured questions to ascertain the unique risk profile of your firm and the controls that you have in place.

Then we’ll draft complete new documents for you. Or, if your existing documents require only a few adjustments, we’ll embed the new controls into those instead.

Finally, we’ll send you the new or updated documents in Word format.

Again, we can provide you with guidance as you prepare your covering letter/email to the SRA.

PDA Legal Conducts Certificated, Tailored Training for Your Team

AML Refresher Training

We will provide in-person training that is tailored to your team and their unique risk and operational profile.

Most frequently, this takes the form of our ‘Comprehensive Refresher’ AML course.

AML Refresher Training Course

MLRO/ AML Officer Training

We also provide dedicated training for MLROs. The MLRO course is designed to support all AML Officers, including Nominated Officers, Compliance Managers, and of course, the MLRO.

MLRO / AML Officer Training