New AML professional services body sets up shop

On February 18 the head of anti-money laundering at National Australia Bank, Neil Jeans, hosted a reception in Sydney for bankers and other professionals working in anti-money laundering. Jeans was wearing his other hat; he was hosting the event in his capacity as chairman of the newly formed Australasian chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists.

ACAMS is a world-wide organisation with its base in Miami, Florida. It has been going since 2002 and has 7000 members - 40 of them in Australia.

Jeans says the formation of ACAMS, which has a charter to develop professional standards in the anti-money laundering field, is a recognition that compliance work is a profession these days and not just something that bankers, lawyers and accountants take on as a bit of extra work.

A big focus of the Australasian chapter will be on training and professional development. Jeans believes that the bulk of training that is being offered today is too generic, running through the specifics of the AML/CTF legislation and its rules. He says there is a shortage of AML professionals in Australia and good training is needed to address that situation.

Jeans says: "When we moved from the Financial Transaction Reports Act to AML/CTF we moved from a quite narrow regulatory environment to a much broader one. There are not enough professionals equipped to operate in that environment."

There are plenty in the profession who agree with him. Chris Cass, who leads the AML practice at Deloitte, says most training packages do little more than run through the legal requirements. "What is needed is more focus on the practicalities of different types of organisations covered by AML/CTF, and a lot more on prevention strategies."

ACAMS' role will be at the high level. It offers a certification, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, attained through a course of study and examination. Jeans says CAMS has been designed for professional service providers and company executives with compliance obligations.

Already 95 Australians have been awarded CAMS certification by going direct to the international organisation. Jeans says the local chapter will develop an additional module for local candidates that deals with the Australian compliance regime.

One thing he is looking for is an ongoing "thought process" about AML. He believes good quality industry conferences are an important supplement to more structured training. "The elements of AML/CTF are pretty simple but there are a lot of elements and the difficulty arises when you put them all together in an operational environment.

"Good quality presenters at conferences can shed light on the varying experiences of putting AML programs together and the lessons that have been learnt. One role for ACAMS will be to organise such conferences."