Role of the MLRO in an accountancy firm

The role of the MLRO in an accountancy firm carries with it serious obligations under the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts 2010 to 2021.

It also carries personal liability. Failure to discharge the duties under the legislation could result in the MLRO being liable to a fine and up to five years’ imprisonment, or both.

Learning objectives

The course will examine the main responsibilities of the Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) under the following headings:

• Main requirements of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing), Acts, 2010 to 2021;
• Receiving internal Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) from employees in the firm;
• Making final decisions on behalf of the firm on whether these suspicions need to be reported externally to the Garda/Revenue Commissioners;
• Reporting to Garda/Revenue Commissioners on the GoAML/ROS systems;
• Supervising the implementation of the firm’s AML policies Controls & Procedures;
• Carrying out regular AML Compliance Reviews and reporting internally to the firm’s management on compliance status; and

Supervising AML training for all firm personnel.