Mizael Auditors provides independent AML/CTF evaluations for Australian reporting entities. We review your program, test how staff apply its controls in practice, and provide management with clear findings and practical recommendations.
Whether you run an accounting firm, legal practice, conveyancing business, or real estate agency, we tailor our evaluation to your services and risks.
The Australian hospitality sector operates under demanding financial conditions, marked by daily cash reconciliations, strict modern award conditions, volatile food and beverage costs, and competitive market pressures. Managing thin operational margins requires precise financial controls and specialised oversight that general accounting practices cannot provide.
At Mizael Partners, we work exclusively with cafés, restaurants, bars, hotels, and catering businesses across Australia. We understand the specific point-of-sale data tracks, inventory variables, and labour efficiency metrics required to build a profitable hospitality venue.
Your risk assessment is the foundation of your entire compliance program. We critically evaluate whether your documented ML/TF/PF (Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, and Proliferation Financing) Risk Assessment accurately reflects the current realities of your business. We analyze how effectively you have profiled the specific risks associated with your customer base, designated services, delivery channels, and geographic exposure.
A policy is only as strong as its implementation. We move beyond desktop reviews by conducting statistical sample testing on your actual client onboarding files. Our auditors verify that your front-line staff are consistently executing customer identification and verification procedures, accurately identifying Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs), and properly applying PEP (Politically Exposed Persons) and sanctions screening before services are provided.
High-risk clients require heightened scrutiny. We assess your internal frameworks for identifying, managing, and escalating high-risk relationships and complex corporate structures. Our team tests your escalation pathways to ensure that Senior Management is actively involved in approvals, and that rigorous Source of Wealth (SoW) and Source of Funds (SoF) verifications are being properly executed and documented.
Detecting and reporting illicit activity is a strict regulatory requirement with rigid deadlines. We evaluate your internal monitoring systems, whether manual or automated, to ensure they successfully identify atypical, structured, or suspicious transactions. Furthermore, we audit your reporting workflows to verify that Suspicious Matter Reports (SMRs) and Threshold Transaction Reports (TTRs) are lodged with AUSTRAC accurately and within statutory timeframes.
Compliance must be driven from the top down. We examine the governance architecture supporting your AML/CTF program. This includes assessing the autonomy, resourcing, and authority of your designated AML/CTF Compliance Officer. We also review board minutes and internal management reporting to confirm that your governing body exercises active, informed oversight over the firm’s money laundering risks.
Your defense against financial crime relies on your staff’s competence and your ability to prove it retrospectively. We review your personnel due diligence protocols and examine your AML/CTF training registers to ensure all relevant employees understand their obligations. Finally, we audit your data retention systems to confirm that client identification records and transaction histories are securely maintained for the mandatory 7-year statutory period.
The strength of an independent evaluation lies in practical, evidence-based testing. Drawing on our foundation as statutory auditors, Mizael Auditors conducts rigorous operational testing to validate your compliance framework. Our audit team samples customer onboarding files, traces compliance decisions, and verifies required risk escalations by senior management. By grounding our findings in empirical evidence, we ensure your regulatory report reflects controls operating effectively in daily practice.
Our evaluations comprehensively assess your client onboarding, identity verification, and designated service mapping frameworks. We integrate our review of your ongoing due diligence, escalation procedures, and staff training with your existing compliance workflows to ensure seamless operational continuity.
We precisely scope our evaluations around your specific legal practice areas, client demographics, and unique transaction profiles. To maximize efficiency, this assessment can be strategically coordinated with your annual statutory trust account reviews, eliminating duplicated document requests and saving valuable time.
Our audits validate your AML/CTF obligations across property sales, portfolio management, and high-value transaction handling. We confirm that your real estate agents effectively implement compliance frameworks in the field, and we can seamlessly pair this service with our comprehensive real estate trust account reviews.
We evaluate your compliance controls directly against the specific designated services your practice provides. Our assessment is designed to respect the fast-paced realities of property settlement timeframes, ensuring robust risk management without causing operational delays during critical transaction periods.
We provide independent assurance for a diverse range of AUSTRAC-regulated businesses across the broader professional services sector. We accept engagements where our audit team possesses the precise industry expertise and absolute independence required to deliver a rigorous, regulator-ready evaluation.
You receive a written Independent AML/CTF Evaluation Report showing what we examined, what we found, and what needs attention.
Your report includes the agreed scope and method, testing results, identified weaknesses, and practical recommendations. Risk-rated findings help management separate urgent issues from improvements that can be planned over time.
We use a streamlined, three-step evaluation process designed to deliver thorough regulatory assurance while fitting your daily operational schedule.
Following a complimentary consultation to outline your designated services and regulatory timelines, we conduct a strict independence assessment to ensure total objectivity. We then deliver a transparent, fixed-fee proposal tailored precisely to your organisation's size, complexity, and risk profile.
Our audit team thoroughly evaluates the design of your written AML/CTF program and ML/TF risk assessments. We then move beyond the desk review, performing empirical testing on representative customer files, compliance logs, and transaction records to validate that your controls operate effectively in daily practice.
We hold a collaborative debriefing with your management team to confirm factual accuracy and contextualise our findings. Finally, we issue your formal Independent AML/CTF Evaluation Report, providing your governing body and senior management with a clear, actionable roadmap for compliance optimisation.
Get a clearer view of your program and the areas that need attention. Book a free 30-minute initial consultation to discuss your needs, timing, and next steps.
ISO certification ensures quality management, security of client data, and allows us to provide optimum service to our clients at all times.
Mizael Partners is led by founding director Ryan Mizael, an accountant serving Melbourne, Sydney and beyond with decades of industry experience. Ryan’s approach combines technical expertise with genuine care for each client’s success. His guidance continues to shape a firm culture built on trust, accountability, and measurable outcomes.
Mizael Partners are proud Chartered Accountants and registered auditors. We offer you the best service and expertise through partnership with these trusted providers.
Don’t just take our word for it. Hear from some of the clients we have had the pleasure of working with.
Mizael Partners offers flexible service tiers to suit every stage of development.
Perfect for individuals and sole traders. Includes tax returns, BAS, and bookkeeping setup to establish a strong foundation.
Designed for small businesses ready to scale. Covers monthly bookkeeping, quarterly BAS, and regular advisory sessions to keep growth sustainable.
For established companies seeking end-to-end management. Includes payroll, cash flow forecasting, full accounting oversight, and business strategy planning.
Optional add-ons include SMSF setup and management, business structuring advice, and virtual CFO support, giving you access to strategic expertise without hiring in-house.
At least once every three years, with the frequency set in your AML/CTF policies to suit your business’s nature, size, complexity, and risk profile. Transitional deadlines apply to first evaluations, and we can confirm where you sit during your initial consultation.
In practice, yes. “AML audit” is the term most businesses search for. AUSTRAC calls the formal process an independent evaluation, which is the term we use in our engagement documents and reports.
No. We assess the design of your framework and whether the controls were actually put in place, which involves testing samples of customer files and compliance activities.
Someone sufficiently independent of your AML/CTF compliance function. It cannot be your compliance officer. There are no mandatory qualifications, but the evaluator should understand your business’s obligations.
We explain our findings and recommendations in full. We must consider independence before providing remediation services for a program we have evaluated. Our advisory team may provide separate support, subject to conflict checks.
Yes. We support reporting entities across Australia from six capital city offices, with secure systems for remote work.
We provide a range of accounting, auditing, bookkeeping and forensic accounting services to help make businesses efficient and compliant for growth. View some of our client case studies.
