AML Training for Accountants: Online Course & CPD

Why Accountants Need AML Training

Anti-money laundering (AML) training is not optional for accountants in practice — it is a legal requirement. Under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), accounting firms are classified as "relevant persons" and must ensure all relevant staff receive appropriate AML training. Failure to comply carries criminal liability, civil penalties, and professional sanctions from bodies like AAT, ACCA, and ICAEW.

For licensed members in practice, annual AML training is a condition of maintaining your AAT, ACCA, or ICAEW practice licence. It's not a box-ticking exercise — it's the foundation of your firm's first line of defence against financial crime.

What AML Training for Accountants Must Cover

To satisfy regulatory requirements, AML training for accounting staff must cover the following areas:

• How money laundering works — the three stages of placement, layering, and integration, and how accountants can unwittingly become involved
• The UK/IE legal framework — Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), MLR 2017, Terrorism Act 2000, and relevant EU directives
• Customer due diligence (CDD) — standard CDD, enhanced due diligence for high-risk clients, and beneficial ownership verification
• Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) — when and how to file a SAR with the NCA, and the tipping-off prohibition
• Record-keeping obligations — the five-year retention requirement for CDD records
• Firm-level obligations — the role of the MLRO (Nominated Officer), the practice-wide risk assessment, and internal reporting procedures

AML Training Requirements by Professional Body

Each professional body sets its own expectations for AML training as part of its practice licence conditions:

• AAT licensed members — must complete AML training annually as a condition of their practice licence. AAT supervises its licensed members for AML compliance under MLR 2017.
• ACCA licensed members — required to complete AML training regularly as part of ACCA's practice regulation requirements. ACCA is a supervisory body under MLR 2017.
• ICAEW members in practice — ICAEW supervises members for AML purposes and requires annual AML CPD as part of its Practice Assurance Standards.
• Non-licensed accountants — if you provide accountancy services but are not a member of a recognised supervisory body, HMRC acts as your AML supervisor and AML training remains a legal requirement.

AML Training for Accounting Firms

If you manage a practice or are responsible for compliance, you need more than individual staff training — you need a firm-wide AML framework. This includes a documented practice-wide risk assessment, appointed MLRO (Nominated Officer), written AML policies and procedures, an internal SAR reporting process, and evidence of annual staff training.

Learnsignal's AML training is structured to work at both individual and firm level. Staff can complete the online course and receive a certificate of completion — giving you the audit trail you need to demonstrate compliance in the event of a supervisory review or AML audit.

How Learnsignal's AML Training Works

Learnsignal's AML training for accountants is designed to meet the requirements of MLR 2017 and satisfy the expectations of AAT, ACCA, ICAEW, and HMRC supervisors. The course is:

• Online and flexible — complete in your own time, on any device, with no fixed schedule
• Verifiable — a certificate of completion is issued for each delegate, providing the evidence trail needed for supervisory audits
• Up to date — content is reviewed annually to reflect regulatory changes, including updates from FATF, the EU AML framework, and HMRC guidance
• CPD-qualifying — the course qualifies as structured CPD for AAT, ACCA, and ICAEW members, satisfying both the AML training requirement and CPD obligations simultaneously

AML Training for Teams and Firms

For practices looking to train multiple members of staff, Learnsignal offers team access to AML training. This allows practice managers and MLROs to assign training, track completion, and download certificates centrally — simplifying the compliance burden significantly. All staff can complete the same verified course, and managers get a clear dashboard showing who has completed training and when.

This is particularly valuable for practices facing AAT, ACCA, or ICAEW supervisory reviews, where evidence of firm-wide annual AML training is a key requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AML training mandatory for accountants?

Yes. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, accounting firms are required to ensure relevant staff receive appropriate AML training. For licensed members in practice under AAT, ACCA, or ICAEW, annual AML training is an explicit condition of maintaining your practice licence.

How often do accountants need AML training?

Annual AML training is best practice and the expectation of most supervisory bodies. While there is no statutory minimum frequency stated in MLR 2017 itself, HMRC, AAT, ACCA, and ICAEW all expect evidence of regular — typically annual — training in supervisory reviews.

Does AML training count as CPD?

Yes. Completing AML training counts as structured CPD for AAT, ACCA, ICAEW, and CIMA members. It satisfies both the AML training requirement and part of your annual CPD obligation simultaneously — making it one of the most efficient CPD activities for accountants in practice.

Can AML training be completed online?

Yes. Online AML training is widely accepted by AAT, ACCA, ICAEW, and HMRC as meeting the training requirement, provided the course covers the required subject matter and a certificate of completion is issued. Learnsignal's AML course is fully online and issues verifiable certificates.

What evidence do I need of AML training?

You need to be able to demonstrate that relevant staff completed AML training if your practice is subject to a supervisory review. This typically means certificates of completion, training records showing dates and delegate names, and evidence that training content covered the key MLR 2017 requirements. Learnsignal provides all of this automatically when you complete the course.