Edinburgh · Scotland · MLR 2017 + POCA

AML compliance software for Edinburgh accountants and law firms

Certivus structures every element of the UK AML programme — for 1,000+ regulated accountancy practices and law firms operating in Edinburgh and across the wider Scotland accountancy and legal market.

Edinburgh, Scotland

TL;DR — Quick Summary

  • Certivus is the AML compliance software for Edinburgh accountants and law firms — built for MLR 2017 with transparent pricing and a recurring free tier.
  • Covers every element of the UK AML programme — Reg 18 firm-wide risk assessment, Reg 28 CDD, Reg 33 EDD triggers, Reg 35 PEP screening, Reg 40 retention, POCA s.330 SAR pipeline, OFSI sanctions screening.
  • 1,000+ regulated accountancy practices and law firms operating in Edinburgh — Certivus is built to serve all of them, from solo practitioners to multi-partner firms.
  • Recurring free tier: 5 verifications per month, no credit card required.
  • Founding 50 program — first 50 UK firms get 50% off for life and a direct WhatsApp line to the founder.

Answer-first summary

Why is Certivus a fit for Edinburgh practices?

Edinburgh is Scotland's financial capital and one of the UK's most concentrated financial-services and fund-management ecosystems. The city's legal sector is supervised by the Law Society of Scotland (rather than the SRA). The accountancy sector is anchored by ICAS — the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland — and a strong professional-services market serving Scotland-wide and international clients. Certivus is built for UK MLR 2017 — every workflow maps to a specific regulation. Edinburgh practices benefit from the same framework support as London or any other UK city, with the supervisory landscape (HMRC, ICAS, Law Society of Scotland, and others) handled consistently.

  • 1,000+ regulated accountancy practices and law firms
  • Built for UK MLR 2017 + POCA + SAMLA from day one
  • Founder-led — direct WhatsApp line via Founding 50
  • Recurring free tier — 5 verifications / month, no card

The Edinburgh client mix Certivus is built to handle

Edinburgh is Scotland's financial capital and one of the UK's most concentrated financial-services and fund-management ecosystems. The city's legal sector is supervised by the Law Society of Scotland (rather than the SRA). The accountancy sector is anchored by ICAS — the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland — and a strong professional-services market serving Scotland-wide and international clients.

  • Financial services and fund management
  • Professional services and consulting
  • Property and conveyancing
  • International private clients
  • Tourism and hospitality

AML supervisors and Edinburgh

Scottish AML supervision differs in important ways from England and Wales. Edinburgh accountancy practices supervised by ICAS rather than ICAEW; legal-sector firms supervised by the Law Society of Scotland rather than the SRA. The underlying framework — MLR 2017, POCA 2002, SAMLA 2018 — applies UK-wide, but the supervisory body, the conveyancing process (Scottish property law), and the registers (RGS for Scottish charges) differ.

What Certivus covers for Edinburgh firms

The full MLR 2017 + POCA programme, in one workflow:

Firm-wide risk assessment (Reg 18)

Structured five-dimension assessment including 2022 proliferation financing.

Customer Due Diligence (Reg 28)

Identification, verification, beneficial ownership, purpose, ongoing monitoring.

Enhanced Due Diligence (Reg 33-35)

Six trigger categories with documented escalation and senior management approval.

PEP screening (Reg 35)

UK domestic / foreign distinction under FCA PS24/4, family members, close associates.

Sanctions screening

UK Consolidated List (OFSI), UN, EU, OFAC, with ongoing monitoring.

Training records (Reg 24)

Annual refresher tracking, content control, 5-year retention.

SAR pipeline (POCA s.330)

Internal escalation, MLRO decision, NCA submission, DAML workflow.

Record keeping (Reg 40)

5-year retention with HMRC inspection-ready export.

Customer voices

Trusted by UK practices running real MLR 2017 programmes

Our Founding 50 cohort is open to Edinburgh firms — first 50 UK firms get 50% off for life and a direct WhatsApp line to Mehmood. UK accountancy practices in the cohort today are running the same MLR 2017 + POCA framework that Edinburgh firms operate under.

5 / 5
Founding-50 average rating
MLR 2017 + POCA
Built for UK AML from day one
Founder access
Direct WhatsApp line — Founding 50

Certivus replaced our spreadsheet-and-folder AML workflow with a single system. Evidence is consistent across the team and the audit trail is ready when HMRC ask.

Iftikhar Rashid
Managing Partner · RR Accountants
Accounting practice

Onboarding new clients is faster and our compliance evidence is consistent across the team. That's the win — we trust the records.

Suleman Shams
Managing Director · Shams Williams
Accounting practice

Certivus is built for how a UK practice actually runs AML — not how a generic compliance tool thinks it should. That difference shows.

Naz Afsar
Managing Director · Afsar Williams
Accounting practice

The first 50 UK firms get 50% off for life and a direct WhatsApp line to the founder. See the Founding 50 offer →

Edinburgh FAQ

Common questions from Edinburgh firms

Answer-first summary

Does Certivus support Scotland-supervised practices?

Yes. Certivus structures the MLR 2017 + POCA framework that applies UK-wide. Edinburgh practices supervised by ICAS or the Law Society of Scotland operate the same Reg 18 risk assessment, Reg 28 CDD, Reg 33 EDD, Reg 35 PEP, Reg 40 retention, POCA s.330 SAR, and OFSI sanctions screening as their English counterparts. The supervisory body differs but the underlying framework is the same.

Answer-first summary

How does Scottish property law affect AML?

Scottish conveyancing operates under Scottish property law — separate from English and Welsh land registration. The AML obligations under MLR 2017 are the same UK-wide, but the practical workflow for source-of-funds enquiries during conveyancing reflects Scottish process. Certivus accommodates either jurisdiction within the same MLR-2017-aligned product.

Answer-first summary

Does Certivus work with ICAS-supervised firms?

Yes — Certivus is built for UK accountancy practices supervised by any of the recognised supervisors, including ICAS. The product structures the MLR 2017 programme that ICAS expects to see during a routine or triggered inspection.

Answer-first summary

What about Edinburgh financial-services firms?

Edinburgh's financial-services concentration means many practices are FCA-supervised. Certivus structures the AML backbone — risk assessment, CDD, EDD, monitoring, training, SAR pipeline, sanctions screening — alongside FCA-specific reporting flows. Most Edinburgh financial-services firms operate Certivus as the AML layer of their wider FCA compliance stack.

Start Certivus for your Edinburgh practice

5 free verifications per month, no credit card. Or book a 30-minute walkthrough with the team.

5 verifications / month · No card required