Write a Due Diligence Policy

When you write a due dilience policy from scratch, it is important to understand your aims and obligations. Identify if you have any specific regulations or industry requirements for the Know Your Customer Controls. Businesses with obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations will want to write a due diligence policy that ties in with their AML Policy and anti money laundering compliance program.

Due diligence is often legal requirement and should be carried out on customers, suppliers and employees. Understanding who a company forms business relationships with is fundamental to risk assessment and protection. Due Diligence also goes hand in hand with anti money laundering compliance and AML risk assessments.

Due Diligence Policy Template

What is Due Diligence?

Due diligence is sometimes referred to as ‘Know Your Customer’ and is the assessment and monitoring of an individiual or entity that a company works with. This includes suppliers, service providers, clients, customers and employees.

Mnay firms forget about employees when they write a due diligence policy. Tie the checks in with any HR policies for recruitment, selection and induction.

Due Diligence Process

A due diligence policy should document why background checks are carried out on individiuals and entities. However, it should also document how these checks and searches are completed. A business will carry out different types of due diligence on suppliers, employees and customers. Therefore, it is important to have documented due diligence procedures for each type of process and verification.

An important part of the process is to document all information and obtain evidence of any searches, checks and vertifications. Remember to obtain copies of ID, business documents and address verification as evidence to suppor thte due diligence process.

Know Your Customer Objectives

A due diligence procedure should list the company’s objectives. This is how they aim to carry out and maintain compliance with the due diligence rules and requirements. The objectives will differ for each company and industry. However, we have listed some of the generic due diligence objectives below.

  • Know Your Customer checks are completed at the start of new business relationships
  • A Due Diligence Questionnaire is completed to obtain customer/supplier information
  • Each supplier, employee and customer is risk assessed via the due diligence information obtained
  • Suppliers are vetted to ensure that the service they provide is appropriate and fit for purpose
  • All due diligence measures are carried out in conjucntion with an Anti Money Laundering Policy
  • The company protects itself and its customers from risks and financial crime by carrying out due diligence checks on all associated businesses and individuals
  • Evidence to support due diligence assessments is obtained during verification and retained for a period of 5 years after the cessation of the relationship
  • There is a an annual review of all business relationships
  • Due diligence on new and existing employees forms part of our recruitment, induction and HR processes
  • Where there is a higher risk of financial crime, Enhanced Due Diligence is undertaken
Due Diligence Policy to Buy

Due Diligence Policy to Buy

Know Your Compliance Limited have over 6000 organisations using our policy templates and toolkits, so you will be in good company when you purchase from us! We have already developed a market leading Due Diligence Policy Template and accompanying questionnaires. There is no need to draft your policies from scratch or reinvent the wheel.

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