Firmcheck: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help answer your AML questions

Being up to speed with the latest Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations is a vital part of keeping your accounting firm on top of the latest developments in AML. But even with the best AML training for your team, there will always be ad hoc AML questions that come up from time to time. 

Depending on the size of your firm, you may have a compliance team who you run questions past, or you might have an internal expert (likely your Money Laundering Reporting Officer) who's available to answer tricky queries. But, wouldn't it be great if you had an always available, 24/7 resource for answering your AML frequently asked questions? 

That’s one of the reasons we created AMLia, our AI-based AML chatbot – they’re a smart, automated AML resource that’s always online to give you general answers to your compliance questions.

Introducing AMLia: your AI assistant for AML 

You may be asking yourself ‘What exactly is an AML chatbot’? 

Just like any other chatbot that we encounter these days, AMLia leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to hold human-like conversations with the end user. 

Their focus is on answering questions relating to AML, and associated components of fighting financial crime, for example, proliferation financing. So instead of trawling the depths of Google, AMLia has been trained on most of the content out there from institutional bodies, government agencies, and our own internal experts to become an AML subject matter expert that is available around the clock, 365 days a year. 

AMLia isn’t designed to replace legal advice or anyone in your firm, but you might find yourself spending even less time on AML by having the answers you need at your fingertips.

Answering your basic AML questions

In the course of onboarding a new client, or running an annual due diligence check on an existing client, you may find that you have an AML question that you can’t answer.

Usually, this would mean spending time trawling through online resources, looking at AML regulatory legislation or perhaps waiting on a response from your compliance officer. That’s one way to get an answer. But it’s much quicker and more efficient to ask AMLia.

This is how it works:

1. Go to AMLia’s homepage and locate the chat window on the top right of the page.

2. Type your question into the chat window; for example “Do accountants need to carry out AML checks?”

3. AMLia will use AI and NLP to read the question and understand your query.

4. AMLia then connects to its giant database of AML-related information and will look for a suitable answer to your question.

5. Once AMLia has consulted all available information, they will write a reply to your question. In this case, your response might look like ‘Absolutely! Accountants have a duty to carry out AML checks as part of their regulatory compliance obligations. These checks help protect their firms, ensure the legitimacy of the financial system, and mitigate potential money-laundering risks associated with clients and transactions.’

That’s how easy it is to answer your AML frequently asked questions (FAQs). By quickly typing in your query, you get robust, technically correct answers to most basic AML questions. Why not give it a go and try asking AMLia a question? 

A more efficient way to resolve AML queries

AMLia has a substantial data source of AML training and educational materials, giving her as much information as possible on AML checks, risk management and compliance. She’s been trained on our own Firmcheck content (which we’ve created alongside AML experts) and on information publicly available and carefully selected from various institutional bodies.

Using a chatbot can help your AML processes in a number of ways:

• Staff have constant access to a reliable AML resource, even when they’re out of the office or are working remotely from home or at a client’s office.

• Experienced staff can check their AML knowledge, by verifying that they are correct about a specific item of AML procedure or regulatory requirements.

• AML FAQs get answered faster and more efficiently, with less time wasted on internet research and scrolling through pages of legislation. 

• All staff can keep their AML knowledge up to speed, by asking AMLia questions as they arise during an engagement, helping to keep AML at the forefront of your team's minds.

Try out AMLia today and expand your AML capabilities

Having the best AML software available is a must for staying in control of your firm’s risk compliance. Firmcheck is your go-to platform for AML checks and risk compliance – and with access to our AMLia AML chatbot, you know you always have an answer to your AML queries

Forget about hours of practice time being wasted on online research and reading through tedious legislation to find the correct answer. Staff will always have an AML resource to consult and can build up their own AML knowledge while keeping every engagement compliant.

Have a chat with AMLia today.

(NB: AMLia has been trained on publicly available information, and whist we've carefully vetted and ensure the content that AMLia is running off, you should always seek your own legal advice, and not take any answers or recommendations as exact – every firm is different, so every aspect of AML needs to be tailored to your firm.)