CONFERENCE REVIEW
An attendee’s perspective
Anti-money laundering specialists’
universe is growing
P
rior to attending conferences, I used
to wonder if I would be exposed to
the “same old-same old, been there,
heard that” presentations, discussions,
vendors and attendees. Well, I’m pleased
to report that the ACAMS conference WAS
NONE OF THAT!
While program session titles remained
similar to those in the past, the content,
opinions and diversity of industry participants exhibited originality and freshness.
If I had to identify a theme or thread
for the conference, it would be described
in one phrase: enterprise-wide holism.
Thought leadership discussions at the
conference demonstrated that today’s
anti-money laundering/Bank Secrecy Act
(AML/BSA) compliance officers must look
beyond the walls of their AML operational
silo and consider how they can positively
impact compliance efforts while simultaneously reducing fraud risk for the entire
business enterprise.
The fraud/AML linkage theme was
highlighted in the scams and schemes
session. AML operational functions are
solidly interconnected with similar and
overlapping “red flag” concerns of the
mortgage fraud crises and FACT Act compliance. In sessions like The View from the
Top: What AML Directors See and Bank
Enforcement Actions: The Year in Review
and the Year to Come, session attendees
were briefed on the global issues facing
the AML community regarding operational and regulatory-demand challenges
today and in the future.
The conference sessions pertaining
to the insurance industry had a greater
number of conference delegates attending
the sessions than at past conferences, and
a number of vendors had products and
solutions that were addressing compliance
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detection needs of the insurance community. One workshop, Insurance: Preparing
for a Regulatory Examination concentrated
on how an insurance company can prepare for a keenly focused Internal Revenue
Service BSA review.
As always, Jim Richards’ “Just Ask
Jim” sessions were well-attended and on
point for all attendees regardless of organizational position. Jim’s general session
presentations covering the use of Excel for
AML and Internet Investigative Techniques
set the stage for workshops and round
tables that included discussions about the
use of technology for detection and sanction administration. Concerning sanction
administration, I had an opportunity to
have an enlightening hallway discussion
with Hank Grant and Tim White about
sanctions and risk. My advice to future
attendees is to spend some time in the
conference hallways and vendor marketplace, meeting and speaking with presenters and other attendees. One-on-one
interaction with industry gurus, who are
highly accessible during the conference,
can be very rewarding. “Off the record”
conversations with government regulators
during the marketplace social hours take
on a more relaxed tone than during formal
bank examinations.
Falling under the “same name, different
game” category were the sessions concentrating on suspicious transaction report/
suspicious activity report (STR/SAR), and
scams and schemes. While the titles were
the same, the subject matter was new and
different. The areas of discussion concentrated on today’s issues, along with future
expectations and challenges. Listening and
participating in fresh discussions about
STR/SAR completion, as well as the latest
scams and schemes being perpetuated by
the “bad guys,” is always important. The
discussions also had a common thread with
sessions that concentrated on investigations
November / December 2008
and cooperating with law enforcement
authorities and government regulators.
Overflow crowds and waiting lists
marked the round table. These cozy, fastpaced, participatory discussions created
a great way to learn what challenges your
AML colleagues face every day. I am
always amazed by the ingenious solutions
and insights that I hear every year during
round table interactions. Round tables are
still the best place to exchange business
cards to expand professional circles for
future outreach when seeking help with
an issue. Another great information source
that was discussed at my table during a
conference lunch was ACAMS List Serve. I
encourage all ACAMS members to subscribe
to the no-cost ACAMS List Serve at info@
acams.org to engage every day in discussions
with fellow colleagues around the world.
During the conference, I had a special
opportunity to attend a meeting with
industry leaders, board members and
ACAMS chapter leaders from around the
globe. I encourage all ACAMS members
to visit the ACAMS Web site to learn more
about chapters that exist or are forming
near their geographic locations. The chapter network is gaining strength but can
only succeed with additional support of
ACAMS members.
In conclusion, my closing observation
from attending the conference is that financial institutions are experiencing great
organizational strain. This strain is resulting in paradigm shifts that require AML
specialists to broaden their knowledge
base and to demonstrate the agility and
flexibility to solve problems and address
issues that traditionally have not been in a
A
narrow AML focus.
Robert A. Goldfinger, CAMS, CFS, fraud/
AML market specialist, PEGASYSTEMS,
Holly Springs, NC, USA Rob.goldfinger@
pega.com
www.ACAMS.org