There are a number of new and exciting enhancements in the latest version of Alessa to assist companies in enhancing their risk-based approach to their compliance programs, such as improvements to our Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) software capabilities. Here is a summary of some of the most notable additions to version 5.5.3:
Software for Easier EDD Reports
While onboarding customers, suppliers, and other entities, it is critical to know that you are not doing business with bad actors. Alessa now allows compliance staff to order enhanced due diligence (EDD) reports from Refinitiv.
From the Due Diligence tab in Alessa, compliance staff can order EDD reports on a business or an individual.
Customers can select the type of report they require, depending on their needs. Information that may be available in the reports include:
- Exact name check only or Full naming variation checks on all known and identified aliases
- Negative media or full English and local language media and internet database checks
- Global compliance checks
- Retrieval of official corporate records and company background analysis
- Individual business interest checks, directorship checks and individual background analysis
- Litigation checks
- Bankruptcy checks
- Regulatory checks
- Executive risk summary and analysis
- Business intelligence and reputational source inquiries
- Ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) – identification of all physical persons holding a significant percentage of the company’s shares
When an EDD request is sent to Refinitiv, the Alessa software automatically creates a work item to track the request. The API connection automatically updates the status of the EDD report (Pending acceptance, In progress, Completed) and can notify the requestor as the status of the work items changes.
Once the EDD report is available in our software, a PDF icon appears in the work item and the workflow assigns an analyst to review the information. Once downloaded and reviewed, the analyst can update risk indicators directly in the work item.
Once the EDD report is available, a PDF icon appears in the work item and the workflow assigns an analyst to review the information
Risk indicators can be those that are in the EDD report (bribery, corruption, social accountability, money laundering…) or custom indicators specific to the financial institution.
Risk indicators can be assigned to the EDD work items and used in risk scoring
Selected risk indicators or the status of the work item can be used to update an entity’s risk score, depending on how Alessa is configured.
Different Watchlist/Sanctions Screening Configurations for Different Risk Profiles
Alessa now allows organizations to create separate list screening configurations for customer segments based on risk levels.
For example, when batch screening a customer base, a financial institution may choose to have different screening configurations based on the risk rating of entities.
Individuals that are tagged as high-risk, can now use a list screening configuration with a lower match threshold and screen against more lists to reduce the probability of missing positive matches. At the same time, individuals tagged as lower risk can be screened against fewer lists and only matches with higher scores displayed.
Alessa offers the ability to configure different screening parameters for entities, individuals and transactions
This added flexibility reduces false-positive rates in low risk individuals while allowing compliance staff to focus on customers with higher risks.
Multiple screening configurations is also applicable for real-time transaction monitoring. For example, a financial institution may decide to screen transactions over $100,000 using a configuration that includes more keywords, a lower name match threshold and/or country filter.
Whether used for entities or transactions, screening configurations and criteria are configurable by the financial institution.
Simplified Screening – Optional Embargoed Country Matching
Alessa now allows administrators to turn off embargoed country matching.
By turning off embargoed country matching, an embargoed country is not in the list of potential matches when screening an entity. Instead, only entities whose name are a match with the name being screened are displayed.
Screening matches without embargoed country
Screening matches with embargoed country
The option to turn off embargoed country matching applies to on-demand, batch and real-time screening.
Investigate New Screening Matches with Reopened Alerts
Alessa now reopens alerts when there are new matches to a previously screened individual or there has been changes to previous list screening matches.
This allows compliance teams to investigate any new potential screening matches and increase the efficiency of their investigations by focusing only on alerts that require further attention.
Greater Collaboration with List Screening Investigation Report Printouts
Alessa now allows users to print the details of a list screening investigation to PDF.
The printed report includes the data submitted in the screening request, all the matches, the confirmed match, any dismissed matches, and a history of all investigative actions taken during the remediation process.
This feature makes it easier to share the necessary information with other compliance members, auditors and regulators during examinations.
Greater Efficiency by Assigning On-Demand Search Alerts
To save time, Alessa now allows organizations to assign alerts generated from an on-demand screening to the user who made the request.
Greater Security with User Authentication Enhancements
The latest release of Alessa includes a number of security enhancements that streamlines the registration of new accounts and password recovery by allowing users to perform these functions without the help of Administrators.
Making Reg Reporting Easier – FINTRAC Reporting Enhancements
If your organization is required to submit reports to Canada’s FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Analysis Centre), Alessa now include significant enhancements to automatically generate and electronically file suspicious transaction reports (STRs), large currency transaction reports (LCTRs), and incoming non-SWIFT EFT Report (EFTI) reports. Alessa is also able to generate outgoing non-SWIFT EFT Reports (EFTO).
Filing EFTIs to FINTRAC with Alessa
Filing STRs to FINTRAC with Alessa
Filing LCTRs to FINTRAC with Alessa
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