What’s new in Astute – July 2025 update (V3.4.1)
We’ve just released the latest Astute update. This brings a set of thoughtful improvements to help streamline your admin tasks and give learners a smoother experience across the platform. Quality of Life Improvements A number of small but impactful changes have gone live this month, including: Image guidance across the platform – Wherever you can […]
The EBA AML Opinion: Terrorist financing risk landscape in the financial sector
Why terrorist financing remains a priority risk While regulatory attention has largely centred on money laundering and fraud, terrorist financing (TF) risks are quietly but steadily escalating, and the financial sector is not prepared. The European Banking Authority’s (EBA) latest Opinion on ML/TF risks from July 2025 confirms what many compliance professionals already suspect: TF […]
What’s cooking in Congress? Key financial bills every compliance officer should watch
A wave of bipartisan financial legislation is making its way through Congress even as the US House breaks for summer recess. Some vital and important new legislation has already passed the House with near-universal support. These bills target everything from IPO reform and senior protection to fintech risk and retrospective rule analysis. Compliance teams should […]
The compliance agenda for 2030: Risk in a fragmented, fast-moving world
Over the past two decades, compliance has undergone a dramatic transformation. Once a low-priority function focused on basic legal checks and annual training, it has become a critical component of business strategy. Today, it sits at the intersection of regulation, ethics, technology, and public trust. Between 2010 and 2025, we saw the rise of modern […]
The end of the Shareholder Rule: How the Privy Council redefined legal privilege in corporate law
In a decision that has reset the boundaries of corporate privilege, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has abrogated the so-called “Shareholder Rule” — a principle long thought to be embedded in English law. For more than a century, companies were prevented from asserting legal privilege against their shareholders, based on the idea that […]
The metadata trap: Why word docs won’t save you from an SRA fine
It’s a compliance horror story just waiting to happen. A firm receives notice of an inspection from the SRA. In response, they quickly pull together their AML policy or firm-wide risk assessment, convert it to a PDF, and send it off. The PDF, of course, was created that morning. And therein lies the […]
Astute LXP July 2025 Release Notes: Previous LMS Records and Platform Speed Boosts
Import historic training data and keep training cycles uninterrupted Moving to a new platform should never mean losing sight of your past results. With the July 2025 release, our new Previous LMS Records lets you bring every completion, score and expiry date from your former system straight into Astute. A single, secure upload […]
Local authorities and failure to prevent fraud: preparing for scrutiny
From 1 September 2025, a new corporate offence comes into force in the UK: failure to prevent fraud. Introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), the offence is designed to tackle the corporate enablers of fraud by imposing criminal liability on organisations that profit, whether intentionally or not, from fraudulent conduct […]
Data protection in Africa: key regulatory developments
The African landscape of data protection has shifted from peripheral concern to core business risk. As Africa’s digital economy surges, set to top $180 billion by 2025, data is now a key asset, and governance around it is becoming a major compliance frontier. While traditional risks like bribery and money laundering still matter, data protection […]
Conversational Learning and communities of practice
Most workplace learning doesn’t happen in a classroom, a webinar, or a formal module. It happens informally; in conversations with colleagues, quick questions over Slack, shared how-to videos, and lessons picked up on the job. This invisible learning makes up the bulk of real knowledge transfer inside organisations. According to the 70:20:10 model, just […]