Imagine two scenarios. In the first, you fly to a beautiful, remote island for a carefree week at an exclusive and all-inclusive resort. You spend the week soaking up sun on the beach, enjoying fine dining, and snorkeling in the crystal clear water.
Now for scenario two. Same beautiful island, but this time, there’s no resort, no gourmet chefs, and no king size bed. In fact, there’s nobody but you. This time you’re stranded. Despite your circumstances, you’re still able to appreciate the beauty of the island scenery. But then you’re stomach growls, you realize you have no food, and that beautiful beach starts to look challenging and hostile. But not to worry. You’re a trained survival expert. As you take in your surroundings, you see tools, shelter, and food in what would simply look like rocks, plants, and trees to others. Your knowledgeable eye sees a host of resources in the land around you.
BSA/AML Systems users often find that what was once promised as a beautiful system proves to be sometimes a bit hostile. These systems, which are designed with the intent of detecting potential suspicious and/or outlier activity, can sometimes produce so much noise that nothing can be heard. The systems can seem more damaging than helpful. It is a frustrating position even when efforts to “fix” the system have proven less than successful.
Our experience in conducting validations of almost every BSA/AML System in the market has given us a few insights. One, every system has value. Two, the need for strong case management is ever present. And three, when systems fail, it is usually because of a lack of data. But, that doesn’t mean that the systems can’t be fixed.
Like our earlier analogy, any organization has much that can make any system effective. The key is using the full range of the “land” and ensuring that all key components are used to their fullest. Here’s how:
Step 1: Maximize the AML System
The first step in this process is to maximize the AML System. System optimization focuses on using the full extent of the system to tighten down weak areas and/or eliminate unnecessary elements.
Step 2: Case Management
The second step in the process focuses on the strengths of case management. Frankly, no system can be effective without strong case management. It is vital to be able to analyze the outcome of each case, so you can determine what’s working and what isn’t. Systems with sound case management can prove exceptionally powerful, but only if it is implemented.
Step 3: Use All Your Resources
The third step is about living off the land. Most organizations are only using a small fraction of their resources to survive. This means that their AML Systems maybe doing all they can, but that it isn’t enough. In Step 3, the goal is to find resources already available to the organization that can be a powerful element for the system. Naturally, when those elements can be added into the system, they should be. But, even if additional elements aren’t available, many times it’s a case of taking existing resources, combining them with the AML System, and giving the organization a far more robust, efficient and effective approach to AML monitoring and reporting.
Surviving AML in today’s challenging world often means taking full advantage of all resources. An organization that is shown all the elements that can be used and the way those resources can be deployed can go from not surviving to thriving. For more information on AdvisX’s Optimization Consulting Enhancement Alert Notification Solution, or OCEANS, please contact us.
