SQA Consulting Ltd

14/12/2021

Did you get the chance to read our latest article from SQA Consulting's Group Managing Director, Jeremy Round?

When performing payments screening assurance, we often find challenges with very short and very company long names. The presentation of both in SWIFT messages can cause difficulties.

In Jeremy's article, The Sanctions Screening of Long Names, we explore the different challenges faced with short and long company names when testing screening systems, and how here at SQA Consulting we guide our clients through the associated risks.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3oTo7Dc

We expect when testing screening systems that a name from a sanctions list – when placed as an originator or beneficiary in a payments message – will create an alert. However, in practice when we do this, we routinely find issues with short and long names.

01/12/2021

Where do you even start when assessing governance requirements at any level in your organisation?

Whether you are talking about projects, programmes, portfolios or the wider organisation, a governance strategy or plan is likely to involve developing or enhancing existing processes and the introduction of new processes. Stakeholders need to understand the impact and benefits of a process on their day-to-day work or the wider organisation.

Read our latest article from Kate Mosley where we discuss governance, developing a governance strategy, and enhancing existing governance processes.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/31d1qkp

Governance is often seen as a constraint by delivery teams, but well implemented governance and strong communications can give your organisation a competitive edge.

30/11/2021

As technology changes the requirement for business automation tools increases.

A report from Formstack revealed that up to 62% of businesses identified three or more bottlenecks in their business processes.

On top of this, up to 25% of businesses are also devoting up to four hours or more to manual data entry!

In an age where demand is rising, as well as compliance changes, you need a solution that will not only see a quick return on investment but also mitigate any risk.

See where automation can benefit your business in our latest article:

https://bit.ly/3F4dKm0

As technology changes the requirement for business automation tools increases. Check out the top five benefits to your business here!

25/11/2021

“The landscape for banking services has changed beyond recognition in the last few years, the granting of the first retail banking license for 100 years to Metro Bank in 2010 opened the flood gates, and since then more and more challenger banks and FinTech’s are disrupting the market.”

Read our latest article from the AML team at SQA Consulting where we discuss challenger banks in today’s market, and sanctions and PEPs challenges faced with the new digital era of banking.

Read more here: https://sqa-consulting.com/sanctions-and-pep-screening-for-challenger-banks-and-fintechs/

The landscape for banking services has changed beyond recognition in the last few years. The award of the first retail banking license for 100 years to Metro Bank in 2010, opened the flood gates, and since then ever more challenger banks and fintechs are disrupting the market.

24/11/2021

What is it like to work with SQA Consulting as an Investigation Analyst?

We asked Harry, one of our Investigation Analysts based in the UK:

“I first joined SQA straight out of college at 18 years old, with only my college qualifications and no prior corporate experience. My 4 years with SQA has provided me with invaluable professional growth and development opportunities. Examples of this include completing on-the-job training to now have graduated with a foundation degree level qualification, and working on several projects that focused on - Anti-money Laundering (AML), Transaction Monitoring (TM), Sanctions Screening, Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) Screening and Know Your Customer (KYC) to name a few.

SQA as a company is heavily focused on professional development and growth for all employees. If this interests you, make sure to apply for a position!”

For over a decade SQA Consulting has been a global market-leader supporting our diverse client network with Transformation, Intelligent Automation, Cyber Security, and AML Compliance services.

Due to rapid growth throughout the business, we are looking for talented individuals to join one of our teams in the following locations: UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, and our brand-new hub in Spain.

Apply today: https://bit.ly/30gQ120

23/11/2021

"SQA Consulting are involved in every decision we make regarding sanctions and PEPs, we couldn't perform without them."

Another glowing testimonial for the AML team at SQA Consulting regarding sanctions screening and PEPs. But what are sanctions and PEPs?

Financial Sanctions can be used for several different reasons such as exerting pressure on a particular country or regime to change their behaviour, or to try and prevent terrorist financing. There are also many different types of sanctions including travel bans, asset freezes, trade embargos and other restrictions.

All UK regulated firms must comply with financial sanctions requirements. If a firm is not aware a new target has been added to a sanctions list, and they deal with that target, they could find themselves guilty of a sanctions breach. The penalties for a breach can vary depending on underlying legislation but can include imprisonment and/or a very significant fine.

A Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) is an individual with a high-profile political role, or someone who has been entrusted with a prominent public function. These individuals can present a higher risk of being involved in money laundering and/or terrorist financing because of the position, influence and authority they hold.

Categories of PEPs include government officials, political party officials, senior executives of state-owned companies and relatives or close associates. Firms often segment different categories of PEPs into different risk categories. For instance, some firms will consider a member of a local council to be lower risk as an MP or head of military.

But what does this mean for businesses? Financial regulators require that businesses implement PEP screening measures as a part of their AML programs to determine their clients’ PEP status. As well as this, businesses must also be aware of PEP regulations which are applicable to them so the appropriate AML measures can be implemented.

At SQA Consulting we pride ourselves on our quality of service with our team of highly experienced AML consultants who able to assist you with sanctions and PEP screening and more.

To find out how we can assist your business with your AML requirements please visit: https://bit.ly/30smqD0

18/11/2021

CONTRACTOR AND PERMANENT ROLES AVAILABLE

SQA Consulting has exciting opportunities for experienced Flutter Developers to join our ever-expanding team based in the UK, with both permanent and contractor roles available.

The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting senior team members and acting as a key member of the project team. Other responsibilities include designing and developing software solutions to client requirements, as well supporting learning, and development for junior product engineering resources.

Demonstrable ability in developing Flutter applications for both iOS and Android are essential, as well additional experience in mobile software development. Knowledge in Java/Swift is also an advantage.

With the rapid growth throughout the business and with offices located in the UK, Ireland, USA, South-Eastern Europe, and a brand-new hub in Spain, now could not be a better time to join! If you have the right skill set, we want to hear from you.

For the full list of requirements and responsibilities please visit the links below.

Permanent: https://bit.ly/3CnmSzK
Contractor: https://bit.ly/3Fqhe1E

17/11/2021

CONTRACTOR AND PERMANENT ROLES AVAILABLE

SQA Consulting has exciting opportunities for experienced Golang Developers to join our ever-expanding team based in the UK, with both permanent and contractor roles available.

The successful candidates’ key responsibilities will include supporting senior team members and being an essential member of the project team, along with identifying problem areas and defining solutions. Previous experience of working with Golang is essential and knowledge of Java or Python is needed. This role would suit someone with a strong background of back-end software development looking for a new challenge.

With the rapid growth throughout the business and with offices located in the UK, Ireland, USA, South-Eastern Europe, and a brand-new hub in Spain, now could not be a better time to join! If you have the right skill set, we want to hear from you.

For the full list of requirements and responsibilities please visit the links below.

Permanent: https://bit.ly/30APM2j
Contractor: https://bit.ly/3Cm05Eg

17/11/2021

“Screening for sanctions names is tricky. As well as people trying to hide their identify by using an alias, names can be presented for screening in sorts of different ways.”

Read our latest article from Gavin Caldwell where we investigate screening systems, complex algorithms and challenges faced when screening more common names.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/3DruToA

Screening for sanctions names is tricky. As well as people trying to hide their identity by using an alias, names can be presented for screening in all sorts of different ways.

16/11/2021

What is it like to work with SQA Consulting as a Network Security Consultant?

We asked Matt, one of our Network Security Consultants based in the UK:

“Working at SQA Consulting has allowed me to gain experience in the latest and greatest IT technologies. I’ve learned a huge amount about the benefits of cloud technologies, and this has allowed me to gain skills that are very much in demand. The company and my manager have been very supportive allowing time for me to train and gain certifications.”

For over a decade SQA Consulting has been a global market-leader supporting our diverse client network with Transformation, Intelligent Automation, Cyber Security, and AML Compliance services.

Due to rapid growth throughout the business, we are looking for talented individuals to join one of our teams in the following locations: UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, and our brand-new hub in Spain.

Apply today: https://bit.ly/30gQ120

11/11/2021

10/11/2021

“The speed of digital transformation is continually accelerating due to advances in internet bandwidth, cloud computing and the explosion of internet enabled devices. This has been exacerbated in the post-pandemic era, where remote working and social distancing have made digital transformation critical for businesses.”

Read our latest article from Deepak Sharma where we analyse the top 10 RPA challenges and intelligent automation opportunities for the adopters.

Read more here: https://sqa-consulting.com/overcoming-rpa-challenges-with-intelligent-automation-opportunities/