Auditing BSA/AML/CFT: Scoping a Review
The FFIEC’s BSA/AML Examination Manual outlines the processes that examiners should take when evaluating an institution’s BSA/AML/CFT program. There is obviously a wealth of information in this manual that financial institutions can also use to craft their own internal BSA/AML/CFT audits. When it comes to scoping and planning a review, the manual states:
The scoping and planning process enables examiners to understand the money laundering, terrorist financing (ML/TF), and other illicit financial activity risk profile of the bank. The scoping and planning process also enables examiners to focus their reviews of risk management practices and compliance with BSA requirements on areas of greatest ML/TF and other illicit financial activity risks. Examiners assess whether the bank has developed and implemented adequate processes to identify, measure, monitor, and control those risks and comply with BSA regulatory requirements.
Kevin explains more in the video.
Published 2026/05/21
Kevin Edwards
Kevin brings years of experience and a unique perspective on regulatory matters to our clients. A self-proclaimed geek and accredited CRCM, Kevin is also a recovering attorney with experience as in-house counsel for a large regional bank and one of the leading national title insurance providers. For reasons unknown, Kevin decided to leave the safety and serenity of his desk job to seek fortune and glory as a wandering adventurer. Like a bank compliance version of Kwai Chang Caine, The Man with No Name or Don Quixote, he now travels the land seeking to help those in need and righting compliance wrongs, wherever he may find them. Kevin lives in Sioux Falls with his two children, who are surprisingly normal after having endured their father’s vivid imagination for their entire lives. He won’t admit to having any hobbies, because apparently “Regulations never sleep.” (While he does say this in his Batman voice, we’re pretty sure he’s joking.) From the looks of his Facebook page, he likes the outdoors and spending time with his large extended family (who seem like relatively normal people).
