Client stories
Remarks from compliance leaders who commissioned KYC record verification audits and related follow-up work.
Voices from recent engagements
“The sample pulled beneficial-ownership gaps we had missed in our own QA. The findings memo named the exact procedure clauses that failed — useful when we briefed the board risk committee.”
— MLRO, Hong Kong brokerage · KYC Record Verification Audit
“Turnaround was slower than we hoped in week two because vault retrieval lagged, but the on-site walkthrough of source-of-funds testing still caught three high-risk files before our HKMA thematic visit.”
— Head of CDD, licensed money lender · KYC Record Verification Audit
“We only asked for an onboarding file assessment after a vendor change. They sampled ninety packs and showed us that certified ID copies were being accepted without the required certification wording. Fixable, and better caught early.”
— Operations director, securities firm · Onboarding File Assessment
“Follow-up testing confirmed most closed items, though two ‘done’ files still lacked updated ownership charts. Having that called out kept us honest with the committee.”
— Internal audit manager, private bank · Remediation Follow-up Review
Extended story: Mid-size brokerage ahead of an SFC visit
A Central-based brokerage approached Netopsplatform ten weeks before an expected supervisory conversation on customer due diligence. The firm had roughly 4,200 active relationships and a CDD procedure last refreshed eighteen months earlier.
We designed a risk-weighted sample of 120 files, oversampling high-risk and newly onboarded corporates. Fieldwork ran partly on-site for vaulted beneficial ownership affidavits. Findings concentrated on stale periodic reviews and incomplete intermediate-layer ownership for two fund structures. Severity ratings separated documentation gaps from cases where risk ratings themselves looked understated.
The MLRO used the memorandum to prioritise a six-week remediation sprint. A later remediation follow-up review re-tested twenty closed exceptions; eighteen held, two were reopened with clearer owners. The firm has not authorised use of its name, which is why this account stays anonymised.