Monday, August 28, 2017

Important Information On Bank Secrecy Act Audits

By Linda Hayes


After the passing of the Anti-Money Laundering law (AML) or Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), today, financial institutions ought to co-operate with government organizations in terms of auditing. The goal of this law is to not only identify but also prevent money laundering. Nevertheless, for majority of financial institutions like banks, this can be very strenuous since it is trying to uphold the crucial skills in the highly focused parts of the BSA or AML compliance program. Therefore, there are companies that can assist your organization in carrying out your bank secrecy act audits.

These companies are aimed at conducting numerous independent AML or BSA audits per year. They have capable teams that provide an exceptional combination of professional talents besides other pertinent benefits. Firstly, they have an open approach in that they are aware that each customer is unique. Therefore, they tailor their auditing programs involving instruments, work papers as well scoping procedures. Also, they offer comprehensive outsource services or they can co-source with the auditing department of the financial institutions.

Some auditing institutions have approaches that offer consistency and they comply with what the regulators require. They also work in accordance to the rules set by government institutions. Apart from providing clients with excellent services they have devices that can test all the concepts that are in line with AML, BSA and the USA PATRIOT Act. There is compliance with all regulations laid down by the state.

Moreover, these firms ensure they are resourceful to their customers on a continuous basis. In this regard, they are accessible for questions in the course of engagement and not just during audit fieldwork. Therefore, each of these sections has specific teams and duties to ensure your bank secrecy audit is conducted smoothly.

Therefore, the AML or BSA compliance professionals ensure that the application of detailed audits is done and prepare the recommendations as well as findings of the test. Moreover, there is a department tasked with overseeing the engagement procedure inclusive of working as the client liaison, delivery requirements and offers quality assurance on all products. Again, the technology department performs the system validation audits and similarly prepares the findings and suggestions.

There are still companies that do a very rigorous assessment. It is done to ensure that risk is managed properly and all the policies are reviewed in the right way. If there are any short falls the firms recommend the best actions and if the professionals have violated any regulation they put measures to mitigate. To have efficient AML programs that are in accordance with the law they advise you on the best practices that you need to uphold. This is done to ensure that your company performs within the legal frame.

It is important to note that the party conducting the independent test must not be involved in any part of the BSA or AML compliance program. This includes both the external and internal auditors. Again, this extends to the conduction of training and the development of processes and policies.

Essentially, instead of financial organizations conducting their personal independent auditing for the BSA or AML compliance, they can entrust this work to the departments who are responsible since these parties are not only independent but also knowledgeable. Consequently, you as the bank or any other financial institution are assured of gaining tremendous credibility with the respective regulators.




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