Timely, accurate reporting of suspicious activity is key to protecting your customers and communities from financial and other crimes. The role of entities and their reporting is crucial, and the cost of failing to meet obligations can result in reputational damage and loss of trust, or severe financial penalties. (abc.net.au).
SMRs: A crucial source of intelligence for AUSTRAC
“If you suspect that a person or transaction is linked to a crime, you must submit a suspicious matter report (SMR) to AUSTRAC. SMRs help protect Australia against money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious and organised crime. They are also an important part of your AML/CTF reporting obligations.” (AUSTRAC)
AUSTRAC analyses SMRs and other information to identify a complete intelligence picture for use by law enforcement and national security agencies to detect and disrupt criminal and terrorist activities. Timing is critical for police to catch and limit the extent of the damage that criminals can enact, which is why AUSTRAC has strict requirements for submission of SMRs within 24 hours if there is a suspicion related to terrorism financing, and within three business days for a suspicion related to money laundering.
Submitting SMRs within AUSTRAC timelines, and ensuring all required fields are completed correctly, is a critical component of an AML/CFT programme. Many reporting entities manually submit their reports; however, this is prone to errors and failure to submit on time, which can result in fines.
Why automate AML reporting
A typical AML programme is detailed and time-consuming. It involves analysing a large amount of data, monitoring various customer transactions, and following evolving requirements of the regulators. AML compliance programs that are highly manual can also have low accuracy rates. Automation can streamline the reporting process of investigating, analysing, and monitoring in a reliable, timely, and cost-effective way.
An automated reporting system could help to meet SMR obligations. Jade ThirdEye already offers automated reporting for IFTIs & TTRs for Australian reporting entities, and now also offers SMRs as part of its reporting solution.
An automated AML solution offers reporting entities the ability to:
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Easily and efficiently meet SMR and other reporting timelines
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Eliminate manual and time-consuming reporting processes
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See the status of submitted AUSTRAC reports
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Streamlined and consistent approach in improving detection
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Integrated reporting with regulators
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Improve the quality and confidence in AML reporting
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