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International Trade Day

A really useful and interesting day held by Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce giving many exporting companies the opportunity to enhance their operations and learning at the International Trade Day.

I thoroughly enjoyed giving a talk sharing my knowledge in Due Diligence, enablin ...

09 Mar 2024
Why it’s worth knowing who the ultimate owner of a business is.

"Always check a company’s ownership structure carefully" - this was advice I remember clearly during my early days in this field.

A few years ago, a client asked us to perform some routine checks on a small company they were planning to start working with. The company was located in a country ...

17 Jan 2024
The US Corporate Transparency Act – New Year, New Changes

With the holiday period now over and the start of a new year, companies in the US will be met with some new changes. This is because starting January 1st, 2024, The US Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA” or the “Act”) is now in effect.

Enacted by Congress as part of the Anti-Mo ...

18 Nov 2023
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive - Are you prepared?

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CSDD") is currently being negotiated at the EU level, with the final version expected to be finalised at the end of the year.

The Directive

Calls for a number of reforms which allow for more transparency and a risk-based approach to managing ...

25 Oct 2023
Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Annual Anti-Money Laundering ("AML") Report Highlights

In their 2022-23 annual Anti-Money Laundering (AML) report, the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) presented their findings from the investigations they had carried out that year. The SRA are a regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales, responsible for regulating the professiona ...

20 Jun 2023
“S” in ESG - The Need for Identifying Social Risks

Regulatory pressures and changes in the expectations of stakeholders has resulted in an increase in the drive of businesses in addressing and mitigating social risks as part of environment, social and governance (ESG) risk management.

A recent report by the International Compliance Association (ICA) ...

The Turing Scheme - The UK Government's scheme set to replace the EU’s Erasmus Program

Established in 1987 by the European Union, the Erasmus scheme is an EU based exchange programme which provides funding opportunities to students, particularly in higher education.

Since its inception, Erasmus has seen over twelve million individuals taking advantage of the scheme, with an estimated ...

06 Apr 2023
GWCI Annual Round-Up for 2022-2023

A big thank you to all of our clients and partners who have supported us over the last 12 months, we would not be here today without your support!

I have attached our latest newsletter (download below) rounding up the last year with some of our achievements and plans for the future.

Graham Welland ...

GWCI Annual Round-Up for 2022-2023

Country Review: Brazil

Brazil is a Federative Republic composed of 26 states and the federal district. The Republic is led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who serves as head of state and head of government. Its legal system is based on the Brazilian Constitution, adopted since 1988.

The Treaty of Tor ...

26 Jan 2023
China’s Military Campaigns and Human Rights Abuses Are Aided by British Universities, Study

British Universities have long since been overly reliant on China for money. Today, over 140,000 Chinese students are studying in Britain, a greater number than any other country. This has resulted in some institutions relying on China for a quarter of all income from fees.

Whilst this has bo ...

24 Jan 2023
Protecting Your Business from Fraud: The Need for Due Diligence

For individuals and organisations wishing to carry out business with another party, especially overseas, there is always an element of risk.

To protect their brand reputation and assets, we consider it best practice for organisations of all sizes and sectors to carry out enhanced due diligence ...

12 May 2022
GWCI Achieves ISO 27001 Accreditation

GWCI is very excited to announce that it has achieved the prestigious ISO 27001 accreditation.

The accreditation was issued by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), a world renowned and British government recognised national accreditation body. ISO 27001 is one of many UKAS accredited sta ...

05 Apr 2022
Is Money Laundering, Once The Bedrock of the Cayman's Economy, No Longer An issue?

The Cayman Islands were colonised by the British in the 18th century and post 1863, administered by Jamaica. The year 1959 saw the islands become a territory within the Federation of the West Indies.

In 1962, when the Federation dismantled, the Cayman Islands separated from Jamaica and chose to rema ...

13 Mar 2022
Enhanced Due Diligence - An Essential Part of Your Compliance Programme.

Enhanced Due Diligence ("EDD") is an integral part of the Know Your Customer ("KYC") process, providing high level risk analysis on clients as well as on potential business partners.

In order to protect your business from financial and reputational damage, some level of KYC should be carried o ...

28 Feb 2022
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) the buzz word for 2022

ESG, an abbreviation of the words Environmental, Social and Governance, refers to three fundamental factors in assessing corporate sustainability.

ESG has driven investment decisions for decades, however, the term was first coined in 2005 by the United Nations Environment Programme Initiative.

Today ...

16 Feb 2022
Establishing a company’s Ultimate Owner - does it need doing?

If you want to know who you are trading with, then understanding who the ultimate owner of any company is absolutely key as they are the ultimate beneficiaries and have ultimate control.

Establishing who the ultimate owner is can be challenging, particularly where multi-national companies are involv ...

03 Feb 2022
Does better compliance save you money?

Compliance, defined as “the state of meeting rules or standards”, helps businesses operate within the boundaries of the law.

In practice, understanding how compliant you are allows you to foresee any areas of concern and mitigate them or at the very least have a plan of action in place s ...

26 Jan 2022
There are more people in slavery today than at any time in human history!

(warns investment management firm, CCLA).

CCLA Investment Management, an organisation which manages investments for charities, religious organisations, and the public sector, has warned in its 2020 Find It, Fix It, Prevent It report that “modern slavery and human trafficking are big busin ...

30 Jun 2021
Why Thinking Proactively is key to Side-Stepping Risks to Your Business

Proactively assessing risk is an everyday aspect of life. Whether it be looking left and right when crossing a busy road or putting a seatbelt on before we set off in the car. Risk analysis is a natural part of what makes us human, and it is something that we do on a daily basis – even ...

23 Apr 2021
Warning on Growing Fraud Risk

A Stratford-upon-Avon global risk and compliance specialist has warned exporters to take every step they can to minimise the growing risk of fraud. GWCI chief executive Graham Welland (pictured) was speaking in the aftermath of a bizarre multi million-pound fraud case involving $36m worth ...

15 Feb 2020
Burundi: Poor with endemic ethnic violence

In 2019, a UN Commission accused the government in Burundi of human rights abuses, including executions, arbitrary arrests, torture and sexual violence. The state responded by calling the allegations, “lies”. In the same year it banned the BBC from operating in the country. Very few priv ...