I See No Benefit From Having To Pay For A Bloody Audit!

By Frank Lieshout | 5 min read

Now we should have your attention.

Missed us? – we’re back!

It’s time again to talk about those three (some say ‘dirty’) letters.

A, M, L

That’s right – AML – Anti Money Laundering and the regulations that come with it.

In our original article, we mentioned a number of objections we hear about complying with AML obligations and debunked these as myths.

Just call us the AML Myth Busters! Here is what we have addressed in previous articles:

In this article we look at the objection of ‘I See No Benefit From Paying For A Bloody Audit!’

Paying for things.

That’s right using your cash, moolah or, if you have to, using credit.

There are a number of things we could be paying for:

Streaming services – there are so many that have something you want to watch on each
Going out – believe it or not, you are still allowed to do that
Bottle of Champagne – or 50 year old Glenfiddich Scotch Whisky (for the small change of about $43,000!)
A flash watch – I’m sure the word Apple means expensive in another language
Shoes – you can never have too many!
Fuel – man, that’s dear at the moment
A number of other indulgences that cannot be mentioned either here or to your partner

What you should be paying for should include an AML Audit to help ensure you are not unknowingly, and unwittingly, involved in money laundering.

Let’s look at why…

Not doing it can cost you a lot more money

Where do we start?

Money launderers are in your bank account. Once in, they could get control of your account and – PRESTO! – clean it all out.
There is prosecution for not being AML compliant and the first step to see if you are compliant is getting your AML Audit completed. There are penalties of up to $200,000 (individual) and $2 million (firms) for not being compliant.
Costs of defending yourself being prosecuted. Lawyers are not cheap. Also, good luck trying to find one as they are all busy (let alone one that is a specialist in that area).
While you are away from work, you will probably have to pay someone new (or extra) to keep the ship running at your firm.
Could also lead to blackmail and ransom payments being asked for and unwittingly being paid. It doesn’t just happen on the crime shows on the telly.

Then of course there are a number of non-financial costs:

Stigma – who wants to be known for being involved with money laundering
Sense of stupidness – ‘How could I have been so dumb to be caught up in it?’
Reputation – your reputation will be adversely affected. This could also lead to a huge financial cost as clients walk away and your business could cease to exist

However, it would be one way of saving money – if you now have a criminal record you may be prevented from travelling to some overseas countries so no spending on that overseas holiday.

Yes, it’s a bloody audit and that is a common description of it.

But as you can see there are real issues if you don’t get it done.

If you haven’t already had your AML Audit completed, get in touch with us.