AML & client due diligence

AML (Anti-money laundering)

In short: The rules, checks and records that stop a practice being used to handle the proceeds of crime.

What AML means

AML stands for anti-money laundering. For UK accountancy and bookkeeping practices it means the duties set out in the Money Laundering Regulations 2017: being supervised, assessing risk, checking who your clients are, monitoring them over time and reporting suspicion.

AML is not a one-off task at onboarding. Your supervisor expects a firm-wide risk assessment, a risk rating for every client, evidence of the identity checks you carried out, staff training records and a documented policy that your team actually follows.

Why it matters in practice

AML failures are the most common reason UK firms are fined or sanctioned by their supervisor, and almost always come down to missing records rather than missing intent.

Where to go next

General information for UK practices, not legal, tax or regulatory advice. Rules change — check current GOV.UK guidance and your professional body before acting.

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Why recording AML checks properly matters

UK accountants must follow the Money Laundering Regulations and their supervisor's guidance. If a check is not recorded, supervisors will generally treat it as not done.

Evidence for your supervisor

Dated ID checks and risk assessments on each client file are what a supervisor asks to see during a review.

Consistent risk scoring

A standard risk assessment means every client is judged the same way, whoever onboarded them.

Ongoing monitoring

Reminders for periodic reviews help keep checks current rather than done once and forgotten.

Faster onboarding

Built-in digital ID and AML checks in Remindoo reduce back-and-forth with new clients.

Practical tips from UK practice

Complete identity checks and a risk assessment before starting chargeable work.
Set review dates by risk level, with higher-risk clients reviewed more often.
Record the reason for each risk rating, not just the rating.
Check your supervisor's current guidance, as requirements can change.

Related Remindoo features

Written and reviewed by Waqas Sagar ACA FCCA FMAAT, Chartered Accountant with 18+ years in practice. Founder and MD of Accotax, an ICAEW, ACCA and AAT regulated London practice that has served over 5,000 clients, and founder of Remindoo. Guidance is general; check current GOV.UK and professional body guidance for your firm.

What UK practices say about Remindoo

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“With Remindoo, everything from the first enquiry to onboarding and ongoing client management is tracked in one place… It saves us hours and gives me, as a practice owner, complete visibility of where the firm stands.”

Shaz Israr

“The biggest benefit is having clients, tasks, deadlines, workflows, proposals and communication all organised in one place.”

Taxaccolega Chartered Accountants

“During my trial, the team were absolutely amazing. They helped onboard my clients, set up my settings and made sure everything was ready for me to use… they made the whole process completely stress-free.”

Afia Begum

“It brings client information, tasks, recurring deadlines, workflows and reminders together in one place, giving us much better visibility across the team.”

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