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Case study

Strengthening Financial Crime controls for a specialist lender in 12 weeks

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Co-Founder and PartnerMatt Beattie
Co-Founder and PartnerMatt Beattie

A UK provider of invoice finance and asset-based lending to corporate customers engaged BeyondFS to strengthen its Financial Crime control framework. The client had committed to completing this work by the end of H1 2026, as it expanded further into asset-based lending as an FCA Annex 1 firm.

BeyondFS was brought in to deliver a focused 12-week programme, building controls that reflected the client's regulatory status, customer base and products, and giving senior stakeholders a structured way to evidence progress to Group.

  • Industry segment

    Specialist Lender

  • Function

    Financial Crime / CDD & Screening

  • Core capabilities

    Financial Crime framework remediation, CDD, Screening assurance, Training

Key outcomes delivered
  • H1 milestone met on target: The Financial Crime control framework moved from Amber to Yellow within 12 weeks.
  • Controls tailored to the business: Training, CDD procedures and risk assessment now reflect the client's products and Annex 1 obligations.
  • Greater confidence in screening: Calibration testing assessed effectiveness and identified clear improvements.
  • Strengthened governance and reporting: Senior leaders gained a clear way to track delivery and evidence progress to Group.
Approach

A focused 12-week remediation programme

BeyondFS mobilised a focused team to deliver the programme over 12 weeks, working alongside senior leadership and teams across risk, operations and securities.

The work combined new, tailored materials with hands-on testing, so that every control was built around how the client actually operates and could be shown to work in practice.

Key elements of the approach included:

  • Tailored Financial Crime training aligned to the client's business model, products and Annex 1 obligations, supported by a senior management session and facilitation guide
  • New CDD procedures covering onboarding, document requirements, decision-making and escalation routes
  • A review of screening arrangements, with calibration testing to assess effectiveness and identify improvements
  • Updates to the Customer Risk Assessment, including country and industry risk inputs and decision logic
  • A delivery plan and weekly governance, with workstream tracking and an agreed Definition of Done

Before handing over, BeyondFS tested how the new procedures would operate in practice, so the client's teams could continue to use the materials with confidence.

Results

timeline

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weeks

deliverables

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handed over to the client

teams

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across risk, operations and securities

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Outcome

H1 milestone met, with controls built to last

The client met its H1 milestone on target, moving its Financial Crime control framework from Amber to Yellow within 12 weeks. Ownership of controls is now clearer, and onboarding and due diligence are applied more consistently across the business.

Screening effectiveness has been assessed and calibrated, giving the business greater confidence in how it identifies risk. The updated Customer Risk Assessment now reflects the client's own country and industry exposures.

Governance and reporting were strengthened throughout, giving senior leaders a clear way to track delivery and evidence progress to Group. The client's teams were left with tested materials they can continue to use.