For accountancy practices · ICAEW / ACCA / AAT supervised
MLR-2017 AML onboarding for UK accountancy practices
MLR-2017 is unambiguous: every new client (especially corporate) gets a sanctions + PEP screen + a beneficial-ownership check before the engagement letter goes out. SmartSearch's accountant module bundles you into a wider AML stack; CCH ProSystem fx + IRIS Practice Engagement bundle a thin AML check that doesn't surface UBO-level screening. Stratum sells the screening as a per-check API that fits practice-management workflows without the subscription floor: corporate profile via Companies House, PSC tree walk for UBO discovery, sanctions + PEP + adverse media on each individual + the entity name. £14.95 per full corporate-client pack at entry; £4.95 sole-trader-only.
What MLR-2017 actually requires for accountants
The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 set out (a) Customer Due Diligence (CDD) at the start of a new engagement, (b) Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) where risk is high (PEP / sanctioned / non-cooperative jurisdiction), and (c) ongoing monitoring through the engagement. For corporate clients, that includes identifying the beneficial owners (>=25% effective stake) and verifying their identity to a comparable standard. The supervisory bodies (ICAEW / ACCA / AAT) inspect on this directly; failing to evidence the screening is the most common finding.
The full corporate-client pack
One call to the accountant suite endpoint (S3, scoping in 2026-05-06) returns: Companies House profile + officers + filings status + PSC tree (depth 5) + per-UBO sanctions + PEP + adverse-media + FCA Warning List screen + SM&CR Directory cross-check for any named individual + disqualified-directors register cross-check + IDV status post-2024-25 CH reforms. One PDF; one £14.95 charge. Standalone tiers: £4.95 sole-trader-only (drops the CH branch), £19.99/mo monitoring for 100 clients, £29.95 Pro for SLA + named-contact.
Why per-check pricing fits an accountancy practice
A 50-corporate-client-per-year practice running £14.95 per full pack pays £747/year — well under SmartSearch's accountant subscription floor + lower than the manual workflow's hidden cost (a partner spending an hour per onboarding stitching CH WebFiling + SmartSearch + spreadsheets). The per-check shape also matches a small practice's onboarding cadence. The practice-management software you use (Karbon / Senta / IRIS) plugs in via the standard REST + JSON pattern; talk to us about Pro for white-glove integration.
Frequently asked
Does this satisfy ICAEW / ACCA / AAT inspection?
We screen against the same statutory sources their MLR guidance lists (OFSI, UN, EU, PEP). The cert format is auditor-friendly — same hash-bound PDF + 7-year retention. Approval is per-firm; the cert satisfies the inspection question "show me your screening evidence for client X".
Does it cover beneficial owners through layered structures?
Yes. The PSC walk runs to depth 5 + computes UBOs at >=25% effective stake (lower-bound aggregation: 75% × 75% = 56.25%; control-natures qualify regardless of share %). Each UBO gets the same sanctions + PEP + adverse-media + FCA Warning + SM&CR cross-check.
How does this compare to SmartSearch's accountant bundle?
Same coverage; per-check pricing means small practices pay for what they use. Volume bands at 100 / 1000-pack. SmartSearch's monthly subscription floor is the wrong shape for sub-50-clients-per-year practices.
What about sole traders / individual clients?
The £4.95 sole-trader path drops the CH branch + screens the named individual against sanctions + PEP + adverse media + the SM&CR Directory if they hold an FCA registration.
Ongoing monitoring (not just onboarding)?
The £19.99/mo monitoring tier (100 clients) re-screens daily + emails a digest on any new match. Catches in-life changes (a sanctioned director added to the board, a UBO that becomes PEP) without you running the full check on renewal.
When does S3 (the accountant suite endpoint) ship?
S3 is scoped 2026-05-06. The build kicks off when S1 + S2 each have at least one paying customer per the parallel-S1-S2-S3 strategy. Until then, run the individual sanctions + CH + business-risk endpoints separately — same data, slightly more orchestration on your side.