Review of Accelus (Thomson Reuters) Risk Management Product
Launched in late 2013, Accelus – Thomson Reuters Relationship Risk Management, offered by Thomson Reuters, is an agency-wide software platform designed to assist banking institutions and financial service firms in adequately performing the following functions:
- Compliance with know your customer and anti-money laundering/countering financing on terrorism regulations
- Global transaction monitoring
- Reputation management through risk assessment
- Filing of regulatory, currency, and suspicious activities reports
- Auditable proof of organization due diligence
Thomson Reuters recently changed the name of this program from Accelus Relationship Risk Management to Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions.
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Company Overview – Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters has been a prominent player in institutional software solutions for centuries, focusing its efforts on connecting advanced knowledge of business needs with workable product offerings.
The company launched its Accelus software solutions interface in 2010 to strategically provide programming geared toward regulatory compliance management for banking institutions and financial services firms.
The addition of the Relationship Risk Management tools has enhanced its portfolio of compliance-focused programs and works in harmony with other Thomson Reuters and Accelus solutions.
With over 60,000 employees, Thomson Reuters offers its technology products and software solutions to 10,000 companies with over 125,000 organizational users spanning 180 countries.
Ranking and Accolades
As a recognized, reputable industry leader in technology and business program offerings, Thomson Reuters has received a number of distinguished awards:
- Named as leading enterprise governance, risk and compliance (EGRC) solutions provider
- Named Operational Risk and Regulation’s operation risk software provider of the years in 2013
- Positioned as a leader in the 2013 Magic Quadrant for enterprise governance, risk and compliance platforms Leaders Quadrant from Gartner
- Named as a leading operational risk management solutions provider by Chartis Research in 2013
The Accelus software solutions through Thomson Reuters are consistently ranked in the top 10% of industry products focused on regulatory compliance management systems.
Overview of Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions
Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions provide an intuitive customer identification software solution to organizational users, assisting with client onboarding processes, customer due diligence screening, transaction monitoring, and risk identification and management.
As an integrated, comprehensive software program, Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions includes the following processes and functions:
Regulatory Focus Areas
- AML/CFT and anti-corruption compliance
- Risk screening for customer due diligence
- Background investigation services
- Sanctions, watch, regulatory, and law enforcement lists
- Monitoring of PEPs and their families and associations
- Client onboarding
- Supply chain due diligence
- Transaction monitoring
Specialist Focus Areas
- Global negative media research
- Organized crime and terror networks
- Pre-conviction research
- Embargoed vessels and ports
- Country risk intelligence
- Extensive multi-language capabilities
- Sector expertise
- Know your customer (KYC) screening services
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Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions are structured to drastically reduce the potential for banking institutions and financial services organizations to be associated with heightened risk entities, individuals, or countries.
This software solution offers organizational users the ability to uncover risks associated with organized crime and fraud, money laundering, bribery, terrorism, and sanctions for breach of compliance.
Key Features of Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions
World-Check Risk Intelligence
Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions offer users the ability to expose potential risks within human networks, providing an extensive program through its World-Check Risk Intelligence that structures intelligence profiles of heightened-risk individuals as well as global entities.
Over 240 countries and territories are covered under the program feature, with specialist research in terrorism, organized crime, and the Middle East.
This feature satisfactorily meets the requirements for know your customer, anti-money laundering, CFT, and PEP due diligence regulations and implores hundreds of thousands of sources to compile its data, including:
- Over 400 sanction, watch, regulatory, and law enforcement lists
- Local and international government records
- Country-specific data sources
- International adverse electronic and physical media searches
- Global compliance databases
- Archived data from Thomson Reuters proprietary databases
IntegraScreen Reports
Detailed background checks are also offered by Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions.
Available for both individuals and entities across the world, IntegraScreen Reports simplify the due diligence process in a risk-based approach.
These reports are offered at a low cost and in a timely manner, enhancing the user’s experience of the program.
IntegraScreen Reports are derived from the extensive network of reliable and ethical sources in the Thomson Reuters reach, including:
- Sector specific sources
- Difficult-to-access public domain information specific to emerging markets
- Global compliance databases
- Information from the World-Check database
- International derogatory electronic and physical media searches
Country-Check
In order to assist its users with comprehensive risk assessment, the Country-Check feature through the Relationship Risk Management tool provides a way to accurately comprehend the country-specific risk an organization is exposed to.
This is helpful to organizations in specific instances, including:
- Know Your Customer Verification – when a screening alert is proven positive, organizations are able to utilize Country-Check to understand the implications of beginning or continuing a business relationship with that individual or entity.
- Supplier Onboarding – For those companies that have supply chains on a global scale, strict anti-corruption laws, such as the FCPA and UKBA, can create a greater need for information. This feature provides the intelligence necessary to stay atop country specific developments and subsequent regulation.
- Risk-Based PEP Screening – Country-Check allows users the ability to simultaneously check a PEP that has been flagged in the initial know your customer screening.
- Transaction Monitoring – Advanced due diligence is made much easier as it relates to location-based risks for suspicious accounts with this feature.
- World-Check Online – Country-Check is fully-integrated with World-Check Online, giving compliance departments an even greater capacity to screen customers.
Transaction Monitoring
One of the most pressing issues that must be addressed within a compliance AML program revolves around transaction monitoring and efficient reporting.
This feature within Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions allows users the seamless combination of monitoring for suspicious activity, know your customer screening, and onboarding within one easy-to-use platform.
Transaction monitoring through Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions provides the following functions:
- Predictive modeling
- Sophisticated, rule-based scenarios that assist with detection of suspicious activity
- Reduction of false positives
- Intuitive case management software
- Greater level of accuracy as systems are aligned
Screening Resolution Service
The screening capability within Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions provides users with a simple way to manage client onboarding and customer due diligence processes.
This feature quickly highlights positive and potential matches for higher-risk individuals and entities within the organization’s system.
The screening resolution service offered through the program can be of great help in the following scenarios:
- Anti-money laundering and threat financing screening
- PEP monitoring
- Anti-bribery and corruption compliance
- Enhanced due diligence background investigation procedures
The screening resolution service also provides users with auditable proof of know your customer due diligence.
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Benefits of Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions
- World-Check Risk Intelligence – Thomson Reuters has a vast amount of data available to its users, specifically focused on regulatory compliance information. This powerful database is integral to early detection of organizational risks in the realm of know your customer due diligence, and users of Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions have unlimited access to this information through World-Check.
- Up-to-date compliance – Each program is specifically designed to address the concerns surrounding a specific compliance issue, including AML, CFT, and anti-corruption compliance.
- Current on regulations – Thomson Reuters stays abreast of regulatory changes and advancement and ensures its software programming is in line with the most recent information.
- Risk-based approach – Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions are customizable, making the software most useful where the organization deems necessary.
- Cost-effective and efficient – The need to reduce risk is focused based on the user organization’s needs, which saves both time and money in the long run.
- Auditable proof of due diligence – Reports are produced as needed or requested by the user organization, which provide a detailed overview of risk mitigation efforts implored. Organizations can rest assured that this requirement is met for both regulators and auditors.
- Advanced software capabilities –Thomson Reuters Risk Management Solutions offer truly customized products to its users, including the ability to have its software hosted or installed.
Single name and entity checks can be made when the user deems it is necessary, or screening processes can be automated and ongoing. Additionally, there are options for case management that requires a multi-user workflow, providing the user organization even greater flexibility within the program.
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