A topical article discussing SQA Consulting’s Sanctions Screening Assurance work and how it is (or is not) impacted by Covid-19.
Here at SQA Consulting, we construct a test file that will be processed through a sanctions screening system. The test file is used to assess the effectiveness of screening, at identifying sanctioned names and to assess the efficiency of screening at not generating undue numbers of false-positive alerts. For the content of the test file, SQA Consulting obtain sanctioned names from sanction lists from various regulatory and other internet sources around the world. Names and address elements included in the test file are all from public sources of information, none of this information is customer sensitive.
The test file structure is either standard SWIFT or SEPA message format for testing payments screening systems or a text file format appropriate for testing a customer screening system. The content of the test file data is either the publicly available sanctions information noted above or dummy data necessary to complete the dummy test payment or customer records. Therefore, since the test files contain no customer sensitive data, we can create these test files remotely in our own offices and simply email the files to an organisation to conduct screening assurance testing.
By way of test results from processing the test file, all we need to know are the record IDs for those test cases that generated alerts. Again, we require no customer sensitive information, there are no data protection or privacy issues with this information, which can simply be emailed back to us.
We now have all the information we need to assess the test results, and to prepare a report describing the sanction screening system’s screening effectiveness and efficiency. We can password protect or encrypt that report for the correspondence back to the organisation, after which if desired we can review the report via video or phone conference.
As you see from the process described above, SQA’s screening assurance work is ideal for remote working practices, the whole end to end assurance process can easily be conducted remotely.
Regular independent screening review of Sanctions Screening Systems is suggested, recommended, and mandated by regulatory and industry bodies. Remote screening assurance works very well under the current Covid-19 socially distanced work restrictions, so don’t delay your screening assurance doe to Covid-19 restrictions.
If you would like to learn more about how SQA can assist with screening assurance please contact us
