ACCOUNTANCY & TAX AML
Verify clients, beneficial ownership, and source of funds before accepting covered engagements.
Accountants, auditors, and tax advisers act as primary gatekeepers under modern AML legislation. Advising on company formations, corporate restructurings, or cross-border tax arrangements requires verifying clients, unwrapping ultimate beneficial owners, and documenting clean source-of-wealth evidence to satisfy professional body inspections.
Dispersed client records fail regulatory practice reviews
Accountancy and tax practices handle diverse engagements ranging from routine payroll to complex multi-jurisdiction tax planning. When client intake documents, company registry filings, and identity checks are scattered across email chains and physical folders, firms cannot demonstrate consistent risk-based compliance during audit inspections.
Accepting a client linked to undisclosed tax evasion schemes or designated entities exposes your practice to disciplinary fines and partner sanctions. Diliguard provides a unified diligence workspace that automatically links official registers, watchlist screening, and partner approval notes into an inspection-ready file.
The Diliguard Standard
Three Pillars of Accountancy Practice Diligence
1. Client KYB & Beneficial Ownership
Verify the legal status, directors, and beneficial owners behind corporate clients, holding entities, and trusts before engagement.
- Query primary company registries via Corporate KYB Checks.
- Uncover nominee directors and layered holding structures.
- Validate filing status, accounts history, and active status.
2. Sanctions, PEP & Adverse Media
Screen clients, trustees, and controlling shareholders against international sanctions, PEP registers, and tax-crime dockets.
- Screen names and aliases with AML & PEP Screening.
- Investigate individual litigation history via Executive Person Trace.
- Vet third-party service providers with Vendor Risk Management.
3. Source of Funds & Cyber Forensics
Corroborate source-of-wealth declarations, audit client account payments, and detect invoice diversion schemes.
- Evaluate funds flow risk with Transaction Risk Scoring.
- Detect unexpected IP locations via IP Intelligence.
- Protect practice workflows with Fraud Prevention Controls.
The Cross-Border Tax Structuring Mandate
A mid-sized accounting firm was approached to structure an international holding company and provide ongoing corporate tax advisory for a high-net-worth client with assets in three jurisdictions.
The compliance partner logs client details, proposed corporate entities, and declared beneficiaries into Diliguard.
Registry lookups unwrap intermediate shell entities, revealing an undisclosed beneficial owner omitted from initial declarations.
Adverse media and court searches uncover an active judicial investigation regarding tax evasion involving the undisclosed owner.
The firm declines the engagement, logs a defensible CDD dossier, and protects the partnership from professional liability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions regarding client onboarding, practice inspections, or periodic AML reviews?
Multi-partner practice seats, centralized MLRO oversight, and firm-wide onboarding available.
Speak with our practice teamWhen are accountants and tax advisers subject to statutory AML obligations?
Under UK and EU AML directives, professional accountants and tax advisers are obliged entities when preparing or carrying out transactions relating to company formation, real estate, client money management, or general tax advice.
Who should be verified during client onboarding?
Firms must verify the client entity, all directors and key signatories, and all natural persons holding 25% or more beneficial ownership or controlling interest.
How does Diliguard assist with periodic file reviews and inspections?
Diliguard creates immutable, timestamped CDD dossiers containing raw registry extracts, screening records, and partner rationale, ensuring complete compliance during supervisory audits by bodies like ICAEW or ACCA.
Can recurring clients be monitored for ongoing changes?
Yes. Diliguard offers continuous monitoring that automatically alerts your MLRO if an active client director or shareholder is added to a sanctions list, designated a PEP, or linked to adverse legal proceedings.
How does Diliguard support source-of-wealth validation?
By pulling historical directorships, corporate shareholdings, and business financial filings, Diliguard helps advisers corroborate client wealth narratives with primary register data.
How do we get started?
Register your firm account at https://portal.diliguard.com/register or explore our practice subscription options on our Pricing Page.
Strengthen client due diligence before every engagement
Unwrap ownership, screen connected parties, and preserve partner reasoning in one auditable workflow.