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AML & client due diligence

Firm-wide risk assessment (FWRA)

In short: A written assessment of the money laundering risks your practice faces, given its clients, services and delivery.

What Firm-wide risk assessment means

The firm-wide risk assessment considers your client base, the services you offer, the countries involved, how you deliver work and the transaction types you touch. It sets the framework your client risk ratings sit inside.

It must be documented, kept current and reviewed when your practice changes — new service lines, overseas clients, a bought fee block or remote onboarding all change the picture.

Why it matters in practice

It is usually the first document requested on a monitoring visit, and an out-of-date one undermines every client rating that flows from it.

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

Built for UK practice growth

Every deadline. Every client. One system.

Start with the workflows that cause the most chasing, then bring leads, AML, proposals and clients into the same calm operating system.

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.

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

Read all reviews on Trustpilot
“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.”
Premier Books Consultancy Ltd

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