UK accountancy firms can currently be supervised for AML by HMRC, a recognised professional body such as ICAEW or ACCA, or, in more limited circumstances, the FCA. Which supervisor applies depends on the firm’s regulatory circumstances, not simply an individual accountant’s professional membership. Although the FCA is due to take over AML supervision for the […]
UK accountancy firms that carry out regulated work must organise their AML responsibilities around the services they provide, the clients they accept, and the risks they encounter in practice. The principal obligations sit under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017) and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), supported by HM Treasury-approved guidance for […]
The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026 change several areas that accountancy firms may need to reflect in their anti-money laundering (AML) controls. The main effect is on how firms word and operate their core AML controls, including customer due diligence (CDD) and enhanced due diligence (EDD), geographic-risk checks, client-account controls, and trust […]
An accountancy client AML file is tested when someone outside the practice has to understand it. If the reasoning is thin or trapped in memory, good work can still look weak under supervisory review. This article explains how AML supervisors may read an accountancy client file during a review, monitoring visit, or inspection, and what […]
In-scope accountancy firms are likely to be subject to an FCA registration or onboarding process once the new AML supervision regime is implemented. There is nothing to apply for yet, because the FCA has not confirmed the exact transition details. For the moment, the current AML rules still apply. Most firms remain under their professional […]
Accountancy firms should expect FCA AML oversight to make compliance more expensive, especially when current supervision costs are low, bundled into wider professional fees, or hard to identify separately. The funding direction is now confirmed in policy, with the FCA expected to recover day-to-day AML supervision costs from the professional services firms it supervises. The […]
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will take over anti-money laundering (AML) supervision of accountants, but there is no confirmed start date yet. Despite the UK government confirming the future AML framework in October 2025, the change still needs legislation before it can take effect. The safest working assumption for accountancy firms is that current supervision […]
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will become the single public supervisor for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing across UK accountancy firms, once the required legislation, funding arrangements, and transition plan are in place. Our FCA transition report for small accountancy firms covers what’s changing, who’s affected, key timelines, and how to prepare. Latest development: […]
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FCA supervision will bring tougher scrutiny, clearer evidence expectations, and less room for messy AML files. This report explains what is changing and what small firms should tighten now.
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| ✓ | What the FCA transition means for small accountancy firms in real terms |
| ✓ | The AML records and evidence supervisors will look for |
| ✓ | Common weak spots in ongoing AML monitoring, rationale, and file updates |
| ✓ | Practical steps to get cleaner, more defensible AML files before 2028/29 |
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