Compliance check list - are you New Year ready?

10 December 2021 22472 Views

Compliance check list - are you New Year ready?

The start of a new year is a great time for estate agents to take stock, think about what has gone well, what could be improved and get ready for the 12 months ahead. With so many things to think about, ensuring compliance procedures are up together can sometimes get pushed to the bottom of the to do list. So to help busy estate agents make sure they are meeting their AML requirements in the most effective and efficient way, we’ve put together a 2022 compliance check list.

1.) Get up to date

Going into the new year, it is vital to ensure your customer database is up to date and audit ready. While all estate agents know they must run full AML checks on all customers at onboarding, some do not realise it is also a requirement to ensure those customers are monitored and regularly rechecked to ensure the information about them is still correct.

If you are worried that your database and customer monitoring system is not up to date or you may not have completed the required due diligence evidence for all clients, don’t worry. We offer a batch upload service which can retrospectively run AML checks on an entire customer database, upload the results of these checks and then regularly monitor all clients to ensure a clean and compliant position at all times.

2.) Don’t waste resources

To ensure you are meeting your compliance obligations, you must ensure your customer database is up to date, however, it is also important that you are not wasting time and resource checking and monitoring clients you no longer work with. As well as offering batch uploads, we also offer a bulk ‘switch off’ service too, which enables you retain the customer record, but ensures you are not paying to monitor clients you no longer work with.

3.) Link your offices

When it comes to running an effective AML programme, it is much easier if all your offices and branches use the same system and that all staff can access the same data. SmartSearch is a secure, cloud-based platform that can be accessed directly or be integrated via API to your existing database, cutting down on admin and improving workflows. SmartSearch can be accessed anytime, from any device, which means agents can run checks on customers from anywhere in the world across all office and home working environments. The results of the checks are hosted and monitored centrally, which means all staff can access results and senior compliance officers can keep a ‘watching brief’ on all activity.

4.) Open up opportunities

If you are hoping to do more business with international clients in 2022, the last thing you want is your compliance system holding you back. By using our system, you can identify, verify, screen and monitor individual and corporate clients from anywhere in the world. And, because it is all done online, you don’t need to see them face to face to complete a full check, making it easy to onboard new customers from anywhere in the world.

5.) Track your spending

If you are paying to run checks on new clients on an ad-hoc basis, it can be difficult to budget for your compliance costs. That’s why we offer our customers an audit reports service. It breaks down spending into a monthly report which can help you avoid an overspend and ensure you are using any remaining credit efficiently and accurately budget for your AML spend for 2022.

Get ready now for 2022

The global pandemic is still having a significant impact on the property market and those businesses working within it, meaning estate agents have enough to worry about without adding compliance to the list.

We want to make it as easy as possible for you to meet your AML requirements and hope our check list helps you get your business compliance ready for 2022.

Not a SmartSearch customer? Contact us today and find out how our easy-to-use online AML platform can get you complaint, keep you compliant saving time, money and worry!