When I was invited to write an AML course for accountancy, bookkeeping and tax firms in the UK, my ambition was to make it the best course I had ever seen. So I have poured everything I know into this course and designed it specifically for staff and MLROs in ‘High Street’ general practice accountancy firms.
I have tried to make the course practical and easy to use, splitting the content across numerous brief sessions so that you and your staff can work through it in whichever way suits you best. You can do a few minutes at a time, fitting it around other commitments, or binge-watch the complete course in half a day.
I have also added sessions primarily for MLROs, covering the areas where they need a deeper understanding: writing and updating Firm-wide AML Risk Assessments and AML Policies, Controls and Procedures documents, reporting to the NCA, dealing with supervisors’ inspections, and handling some of the more complex technical issues.
Anti-money laundering compliance is not simply a matter for the MLRO. In an accountancy, bookkeeping or tax practice, everyone who deals with clients needs to understand the basics: what money laundering means, what the firm is required to do, when warning signs should be escalated, and why good records matter.
The 2026 AML Certification Course has been designed with those practical needs in mind. It is a structured AML course for staff, with an additional MLRO section for those who carry responsibility for the firm’s AML system. The aim is not to make everyone a legal expert. The aim is to help firms build consistent understanding, better judgement, and stronger evidence of training across the team.
The aim of the course
The course is intended to give accountancy firms, bookkeeping practices, tax advisers and related professional service providers a clear, practical foundation in AML compliance. It explains the legal framework, but it does so by focusing on the situations that arise in real firms: onboarding a new client, checking identity, assessing risk, spotting red flags, monitoring existing clients, and reporting suspicions when necessary.
For many firms, the real compliance challenge is not knowing that AML rules exist. The challenge is applying them consistently across the entire client base. A supervisor will not be impressed by a policy document if staff do not follow the procedures or understand what AML compliance means in practice. Equally, an MLRO cannot run an effective AML system if every concern, question and decision is left for them to deal with.
That is why the course is built around practical understanding. It is intended to help staff recognise the main AML risks and help MLROs evidence that proper training has been given. Done properly, training is not just a tick-box. It is part of the firm’s control environment.
Outline of the content for staff
The staff part of the course contains 27 chapters. It starts with a welcome and introduction to the 2026 AML Certification, before moving into the fundamentals of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the meaning of money laundering.
The early chapters explain the criminal background to AML. They briefly cover traditional money laundering concepts such as placement, layering and integration, but focus on the offences that most often matter in accountancy practice: tax evasion, fraud, theft and false accounting. At the same time they do not overlook bribery, sanctions breaches, terrorist property offences and proliferation financing.
The course then moves into the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Staff are introduced to what the regulations require and how a firm complies in practice. That includes onboarding a new client, verifying identity, completing the initial AML risk assessment, carrying out ongoing monitoring, and recognising the special categories of client, business activity and services that may create higher risk or involve particular issues.
There is also a specific focus on red flags and on reporting a suspicion. That matters because staff are often the first people to notice something odd: a client who will not provide information, a weakness in accounting records, an unexplained source of funds, a business structure that does not make sense, or a transaction that appears to have no commercial purpose.
The staff course closes with a few legal points, civil and criminal penalties, and sources of help and further information.
In total, the staff section uses 350 PowerPoint slides and includes short Q&A checks throughout.
The additional MLRO section
The full bundle also includes a dedicated section for the MLRO. This is aimed at the person responsible for the firm’s AML arrangements: someone who needs to understand not only what the rules say, but how to keep the system working in practice.
The MLRO section contains 10 further chapters. It begins with an introduction to the 2026 MLRO Course and then looks at the duties of the MLRO. It goes on to cover preparing and updating the firm’s AML Policies, Controls and Procedures document, and preparing and updating the Firm-wide AML Risk Assessment.
Those two documents are often among the first things an AML supervisor will ask to see. They need to be more than templates with the firm’s name inserted. They should describe the firm’s actual clients and services, risks, controls and procedures.
The MLRO section also deals with staff and sub-contractors, tricky practical points, reporting suspicions to the National Crime Agency, the firm’s annual AML compliance reviews, and dealing with the firm’s AML supervisory body. It closes with sources of help and further information.
This section uses 194 PowerPoint slides and, like the staff section, includes short Q&A checks.
How long does the course take?
The staff course video content runs to approximately 2 hours and 21 minutes. The additional MLRO section runs to approximately 1 hour and 18 minutes. Taken together, the combined course video content is just under 3 hours and 40 minutes.
That does not mean, however, that it should be rushed through in a single sitting. The course includes slides and Q&A checks, and the subject matter deserves some reflection. The best approach for many firms will be to allow staff to complete the course in stages, then follow up internally on how the firm’s own procedures apply.
For example, after the chapters on onboarding, identity verification and risk assessment, it may be useful to remind staff where the firm’s own onboarding checklist is kept, who reviews higher-risk clients, and how decisions should be documented.
Why is the course split into so many small parts?
The course is deliberately split into a large number of short parts rather than a small number of long sessions. That is not accidental. It reflects the way busy professional firms work in practice.
Most accountancy staff cannot easily block out half a day for AML training. They are dealing with client queries, deadlines, payrolls, accounts, tax returns and interruptions. A course built in smaller parts is easier to work through in stages. It allows someone to complete a short chapter between other tasks without losing the thread.
That also helps learning. AML is a subject with a lot of moving parts. It includes criminal law, regulation, client due diligence, professional judgement, record keeping, escalation and reporting. Breaking the course into smaller chapters makes it easier to absorb one topic at a time.
For the MLRO, the modular structure is also useful. If a particular issue arises in the firm, such as updating the Firm-wide AML Risk Assessment or preparing for a supervisor’s review, the relevant part of the course can be revisited without having to search through one long recording.
Final Q&A
Is this course only for MLROs?
No. The main part of the course is designed for staff. It is suitable for people involved in onboarding, client work, bookkeeping, accounts preparation, tax work or administration, where they may come across AML issues. The additional MLRO section is for the person responsible for the firm’s AML arrangements.
Does the course replace the firm’s own AML procedures?
No. Training helps staff understand what is required, but each firm still needs its own AML Policies, Controls and Procedures, its own Firm-wide AML Risk Assessment, and its own client due diligence and monitoring processes.
Why include criminal offences such as fraud, theft and tax evasion?
Because money laundering is connected with the proceeds of crime. In accountancy practice, the issue is not limited to bags of cash or organised crime stereotypes. Tax evasion, fraud and false accounting can all generate criminal property and therefore AML risk.
How should firms use the course?
Ideally, firms should keep a clear record of who completed the course and when. They should also connect the training back to their own procedures, so staff know what to do in the firm’s actual working environment.
What is the practical takeaway?
AML training should help a firm become more consistent, more confident and better able to evidence what it does. The 2026 AML Certification Course is built to support that aim: practical training for staff, with additional focused support for the MLRO.
The contents of this article are meant as a guide only and are not a substitute for professional advice. The author/s accept no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, as a result of the material contained in this document. Specific advice should be obtained before acting or refraining from acting, in connection with the matters dealt with in this article. The information at the time of publishing was accurate and could be subject to final changes.
