The SRA’s thematic review of source of funds compliance, published last November, made for uncomfortable reading for many conveyancing firms.
The regulator found that in 8% of files reviewed between April 2024 and April 2025, the documented source of funds did not match the information on the ledgers.
Importantly, it noted that some firms were holding source of funds information but had simply failed to scrutinise it. The paperwork was there, but the analysis was not.
Collecting is not the same as checking
The message is clear: simply checking a bank statement is not the same as actually understanding where the money has come from.
With 73% of the suspicious activity reports the SRA submitted to the National Crime Agency over a two-year period relating to conveyancing transactions, the regulator has left little doubt about where it believes the risk lies.
Conveyancing is the highest-risk area of legal practice for money laundering. Firms that treat source of funds as a box-ticking exercise are increasingly likely to find themselves in enforcement proceedings.
That direction of travel is only going to intensify. The government’s announcement that the FCA will take over AML supervision from the SRA may signal a shift towards a more data-driven, systems-focused regulatory approach, one in which firms need to demonstrate not just that they collected evidence, but that they assessed it properly.
The problem with manual workflows
For many firms, source of funds checks still rely on a blend of emails, PDF attachments, and human judgement. Tried and tested, maybe, but manual checks can be inconsistent, unstructured, and difficult to defend under scrutiny.
With manual workflows, it’s almost impossible to flag mismatches in real time.
So, the firms best placed to meet rising regulatory expectations are those that have already moved to structured digital workflows, where source of funds, document collection, and risk assessments are built into the onboarding process rather than tacked on afterwards.
Built for scrutiny, not just collection
Checkboard integrates source of funds checks directly into the client journey.
Clients complete a structured, intuitive workflow, submitting supporting documents and connecting their accounts through secure open banking. This is then reviewed against their personal details, and against the nature of the transaction.
The result is a clear, auditable record of what has been collected and assessed, and when—exactly the kind of evidence the SRA wants to see.
The consequences of non-compliance are clear: not just fines, but serious reputational damage, too. And with the scrutiny only set to increase, the need to review your source of funds screening has never been more urgent.
To start that review, get in touch with Checkboard.
This article was submitted by Checkboard as part of an advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
