VP urges legal firms to make compliance digital in conference speech

Tom Dockerty, VP of Professional Services Sales at SmartSearch, urges legal firms to make compliance digital in conference speech.

A commitment to digitalisation and innovation is key to ensuring continued anti-money laundering (AML) compliance and operational efficiency, a leading UK legal conference has heard.

Speaking at the LegalEx conference in London, Tom Dockerty, VP of Professional Services Sales at SmartSearch urged delegates to phase out legacy processes and outdated manual checks which put firms at risk to money laundering and potential regulatory fines.

SmartSearch is the UK’s leading provider of anti-money laundering software. Its digital compliance solution is trusted by one in three of the UK’s top 200 law firms and more than 5,500 clients across the world.  

Tom Dockerty, VP of Professional Services Sales, SmartSearch

In his speech, Tom Dockerty said:

“Changing demands magnified by the pandemic have led to increased challenges for businesses, not in the least law firms who continue to be exposed to money laundering risk.

“With a clear global shift towards digitalisation, now is the ideal time for firms to reflect on regulatory and compliance procedures. Without question, electronic verification (EV) provides the best way for firms to protect their business and keep a competitive advantage whilst remaining compliant.”

Tom also spoke of the challenges of a reactive approach, which he argues can reduce profitability and operational efficiency, as well as result in large volumes of client accounts with insufficient controls or monitoring.

He warned that a mix of siloed systems and manual checks can lead to a cumbersome onboarding experience for customers and increased risk of dropout.

In contrast, Tom highlighted the advancements digitalisation had brought to the AML process, removing the need for face-to-face checks or physical documentation. In light of the current climate and with the war in Ukraine, digital compliance systems can offer both real-time monitoring and robust sanction and PEP screening, making due diligence and know your customer (KYC) procedures efficient and far more effective.

Tom added:

“It’s important we create more barriers to stop criminals using their illicit funds. Even if the problem seems so vast, we can all play our part in working to prevent money laundering.

“I hope we can help you see the benefits of digitising and consolidating compliance processes – yes to benefit your business and help with verifying the identity of customers, but mostly to spot bad actors and stop their efforts before any funds transact.”

In addition to supporting law firms, conveyancers and legal professionals, SmartSearch’s digital compliance solution is used across a range of sectors including financial services, property, accountancy and banking. In total, the SmartSearch platform has more than 50,000 users worldwide.

Kindly shared by SmartSearch

Main photo courtesy of Pixabay