Why does SoW analysis matter?
A client may provide valid documents, clear screening checks, and still pose significant risk.
This is because financial crime often does not appear in a single transaction, it appears in the story behind the wealth.
SoW analysis helps institutions understand whether a client’s assets, businesses, and lifestyle reasonably match their known profile.
It is important because it helps to:
- Differentiate legitimate high-net-worth clients from potentially higher-risk ones
- Detect use of complex companies or third parties to conceal ownership
- Recognise early indicators of corruption, fraud, or tax evasion risks
- Make informed onboarding and risk-rating decisions
In many cases, regulatory findings arise when institutions knew who the client was, but did not sufficiently understand how they became wealthy.
Strong SoW analysis therefore supports better judgement, stronger audit trails, and reduced regulatory and reputational exposure.
Author: Charu Goyal