How Australian Businesses Can Protect Themselves From Financial Crimes 

Financial crimes are some of the most serious offences that companies or individuals can commit as it affects the economy’s money supply. Rules and regulations are set in place by the various financial intelligence units, and non-compliance or breaking them in any way can lead to companies getting shut down or being levied hefty fines. Companies in Australia can protect themselves from such financial crimes by complying with these regulations, filing a threshold transaction report and bringing in external auditors to audit and review all the business processes. There is a myriad of ways that companies in Australia can look into to keep themselves in check: 

1. Apply For The Services Of Australia’s Finance Intelligence Unit: Commonly known as AUSTRAC, businesses that come under the specified categories of financial institutions are required to apply and regularly file updates and reports like the threshold transaction report. The AUSTRAC keeps track of all monetary transactions that exceed a specific limit and keeps an eye out for companies to prevent them from being mixed up in malicious activities like finance terrorism or money laundering.
2. Formulate Plans To Combat Financial Crimes In The Workspace: Businesses should prepare strategies and set contingency plans in place so that there will be a plan in case things go south. Having a solid and actionable plan will reduce the total risk of financial crimes in the company and will also help employees weed out unnecessary risks and breaches in monetary transactions. 
3. Learning About The Different Financial Crimes And Ploys That Companies Fall Prey To: Go through the various forms of malpractices and crime-related activities that are pulled on unsuspecting institutions in Australia. Businesses that know about such activities will have a better chance of dealing with these crimes instead of waiting for everything to happen. Don’t underestimate the efficiency of organised crime; companies must take all the necessary steps to arm themselves with the knowledge. It’s also a good idea to carry out regular drills and audits to keep the security team on their toes and active. Companies can look up online resources available on the government website to keep themselves updated on the various financial crimes plaguing the country. 
4. Keep a Detailed Collection of Information Regarding All The Clients and Customers That Work With The Company: Have strict vetting processes and selection criteria set in place for employees who work in the company and be consistent with the background checks as often as possible. It’s like the old motto, trust them, but don’t be afraid to verify. Unrealistic deals offering mountains of profits or contracts that scream red flags must be checked out immediately and acted on all suspicions without delay. It might take a lot of time to verify a source of an illegal transaction or a deal, but it is better to be safe than sorry.
5. What Happens When A Deal Or A Transaction Gets Flagged? Halt transactions and get the government on the line, highlight what the suspicion is and send a detailed report as soon as possible. Question all the employees who worked on a suspicious project; verify all the details before confirming malpractice. 

Always have all the available resources updated and ready, and follow through with all the regulations as religiously as possible. The more the number of transactions a business deals with, the stronger its security systems need to be to track and monitor everything. Above all, take advantage of digital tech as it will prove to be a boon when fighting financial crimes.