Fish Out of Water – Fish POV

13 Aug 2024

From emptying catheter bags on Friday, to editing anti-money laundering PowerPoint slides by Monday, this is an insight into my reality of experiencing a drastic change in career path.

After completing my A levels, I dove headfirst into the world of Dementia Care Services and stayed within the parameters of Health and Social Care. 4 years of personal development later, I found myself looking for a role that was less emotionally taxing (pardon the pun), which brings me to my current status as a Compliance Associate for Martyn Fiddler.

Throughout my induction, I have been introduced to brilliant-minded colleagues from each department, where everybody shared their expertise and explained how each of their roles play a pivotal part in running a successful TCSP. During their explanations, however, it was difficult to ignore the multitude of subconsciously used acronyms engraved into their speech.

Of course, having never been exposed to the jargon related to the world of finance, I struggled to comprehend the information being handed to me. What did they mean ‘we have to be thorough when reviewing CDD during the KYC process. We also need to be wary of PEPs and UHNWIs by taking a RBA’? I found myself constantly asking colleagues or googling what the acronyms stood for. This was a challenge in itself as I found many of the abbreviations searched hold different meanings, which made it hard to ascertain which acronym was correct in the context I was looking for.

Furthermore, I fell into a seemingly endless rabbit hole of googling the definitions of words that were within the definitions of phrases. For example, I searched for the definition of ‘subsidiary’, which yielded the result ‘a company controlled by a holding company’, which then led me to a secondary search of ‘what is a holding company’. As you can see, what could seem like a simple sentence for an experienced professional, could in fact be challenging for a novice.

For all of those who are just beginning their careers in a new industry just like myself, I understand that it can be daunting delving into a new role with little or no prior knowledge. However, I hope that the relatability of my experience can serve as comfort, we all start somewhere, and remember that a lack of knowledge does not equate to a lack of intelligence.

I am grateful for the immense amount of support I’ve received since starting at Martyn Fiddler, and I am confident that the team will all continue to work hard to help me swim my way out of inexperience and up to speed in the language that is; finance.

To assist those who are in the same position as me, I have built a glossary consisting of expanded acronyms I have come across so far.

TCSP = Trust/Company Service Provider

ICs = Incorporated Cells

KYC = Know Your Customer

CDD = Customer Due Diligence

AML = Anti-Money Laundering

MLRO = Money Laundering Reporting Officer

DMLRO = Deputy Money Laundering Reporting Officer

MLCO = Money Laundering Compliance Officer

CFT = Combating the Financing of Terrorism

FATF = Financial Action Task Force

FIUs = Financial Intelligence Units

PEP = Politically Exposed Person

UHNWI = Ultra High Net Worth Individual

SOF = Source of Funds

SOW = Source of Wealth

RBA = Risk Based Approach

SAR = Suspicious Activity Report

SPV = Special Purpose Vehicle

SOE = State Owned Entity

M&As = Memorandum and Articles of Association

GAAP = Generally Accepted Accounting Practice

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