Category Archives: Press release

VinciWorks’ Director for Legal Services shares 2019 compliance priorities for solicitors

Director for Legal Services Pip Johnson
Pip Johnson, Director For Legal Services at VinciWorks

In a recent article published by QBE insurance group on the risks that law firms should look out for in 2019, our Director for Legal Services Pip Johnson shared her insights together with other compliance experts.

Pip flagged the Fifth Money Laundering Directive, which must be implemented into national regulations by this time next year. While the Fifth Directive is not as extensive as the Fourth Directive that came into force in 2017, there are still some changes to take on by the beginning of 2020. These changes include the regulation of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, with some firms already having been asked to accept cryptocurrency payments. The Fifth Directive will also see enhanced due diligence requirements. Of course, Pip also discussed the effect Brexit could have on UK lawyers, with the UK due to implement its own Sanctions regime.

Other key takeaways from the interview:

  • EU Council Directive 2018/822, (DAC 6), that came into force last June requiring intermediaries involved in cross border tax transactions to retain details of potentially tax advantageous matters
  • An expected increase of comlaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for GDPR breaches
  • The upcoming reformed SRA Handbook and the new Accounts Rules
  • How Brexit could effect the UK’s laws and regulations and how they apply to UK law firms

You can read the full report from QBE here.

VinciWorks releases new e-learning course: Anti-Money Laundering: Know Your Risk

We have recently launched a new risk-focused course based on new EU and UK AML laws.

Anti-Money Laundering: Know Your Risk drops users into a realistic, immersive scenario-based simulation to test their knowledge, understanding and ability to uncover the risks of money laundering hidden in everyday transactions. The Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive and the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2017, passed this year, mandates a fully risk based approach to AML. This means the white list has gone, as have exemptions from client due diligence procedures.

As a long-standing leader in the field of e-learning, Anti-Money Laundering: Know Your Risk asks users to assess the inherent risks and red flags of over 100 available scenarios and give each situation a risk score. Uniquely in e-learning, users receive live feedback and can compare their risk tolerance against others in their firm, industry and globally.

Demo the course

Gain experience points as you take the course

Screenshot showing experience points in Anti-Money Laundering: Know Your Risk

The new course enables users to accrue experience points as they work through various AML scenarios. Veteran users will gather experience points more quickly, updating their knowledge and completing the course in as little as fifteen minutes. Whereas newer users or those that need a more in-depth refresh are encouraged to spend more time reading additional content and building up a bank of points to demonstrate their AML knowledge.

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VinciWorks releases new course on Modern Slavery Act

VinciWorks has released a new online course on the Modern Slavery Act. This 20 minute course teaches employees about the Modern Slavery Act and explains how they can identify signs of slavery in the supply chain. It uses scenarios that are tailored to different industries and can be customised to include internal procedures. The course:

 

  • Provides background on the scope of the issue
  • Reviews the legal requirements under the Modern Slavery Act
  • Teaches staff how to identify slavery in the supply chain
  • Provide examples of red flags
  • Explains the organisation’s internal reporting procedures

 

Fill out the form below to demo the course:

VinciWorks launches Continuing Competence Module

A compliance software system designed specifically for the SRA’s new approach to CPD

On 1 November 2016, the legal profession will experience a momentous change to the manner in which solicitors remain competent. After that date, every solicitor in England will be required to demonstrate that they have reflected on their abilities to deliver competent legal practice, and bridged the gaps in their competence through learning. This reflective approach replaces the current system, whereby every solicitor undertakes a flat 16 hours of learning.

This new regime has left many confused. In the largest poll conducted on the issue, VinciWorks found that confusion amongst solicitors is the number one concern of compliance departments on the eve of these new regulations.

Continuing Competence Module

VinciWorks has used this survey as well as interviews with firms, solicitors and the SRA, to  develop a full software solution for compliance with the SRA’s new approach to continuing competence. The module alleviates the confusion around the process by guiding solicitors step-by-step through the new requirements. It show solicitors how to perform the four steps in the SRA’s guidance:

  • Reflect on your practice to identify your learning and development needs
  • Plan how you will address your learning and development needs
  • Record and evaluate your learning activity in order to demonstrate to the SRA that you have taken steps to ensure your ongoing competence
  • Make an annual declaration to confirm you have completed the above

Continuing competence module for SRA changes to CPD

Free for individuals

This compliance module is completely free for individual solicitors and is available today. Firms will be able to purchase monitoring, reporting and user management tools to automate compliance on an organisational level.

Features of the continuing competence module

The VinciWorks Continuing Competence Module features everything solicitors and firms needs to comply with the SRA’s new approach to continuing competence.

  • Simple user interface to guide solicitors through the reflective learning process
  • Mobile friendly
  • Robust admin dashboard and reporting to monitor online compliance
  • Built-in compliance course with best-practice guidance

According to Yehuda Solomont, Director of Marketing at VinciWorks, this is the first solution that has been created with direct input from the SRA.

“During the development process, we received guidance from several people at the SRA, including Richard Williams, the senior policy advisor on changes to CPD. As you can see in the video demonstration, VinciWorks’ background in education produced a simple and intuitive interface that naturally guides and educates the user.”

Sign up for free

To sign up for free visit https://vinciworks.com/competence

To see a full video demonstration visit: https://vinciworks.com/products/continuing_competence_module

Introducing Human Nagware

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2016

Introducing Human Nagware

Because sometimes email is not enough

London — Convincing people to complete their compliance training has always been a challenge. Work deadlines, client pressures and other high priority tasks all contribute to employees neglecting their online courses. However, training on topics such as money laundering, bribery and diversity is mandatory and important.

Due to compliance requirements, firms require that staff complete training, and expensive administrative resources are spent chasing non-compliant individuals. Moreover, low completion rates expose firms to regulatory sanctions.

How Nagware changed compliance

In 2011 VinciWorks improved the state of compliance training forever when it introduced its revolutionary Nagware. With Nagware firms could auto-remind employees to complete training with gently escalating reminder emails.

“Nagware was a game changer”, Howard Finger, VinciWorks’ CEO commented. “Overnight, course completions tripled. Firms were asking us to incorporate Nagware into other processes in order to increase compliance rates. To fulfil that request we developed Policy Tracker for tracking policy compliance and we integrated Nagware into the Risk Management System for control procedures. We are now looking at Nagware for the Breaches Register and the Annual PI Questionnaire.”

Nagware did not go far enough

However, Nagware did not go far enough. In a pilot programme with Local Law LLP to test the efficacy of different Nag regimens, the compliance rate never rose above 75%. Nigel Plaskitt of Local Law summed up the experiment: “We threatened, we cajoled, we sent ominous emails from the managing partner. Nothing seemed to work. There were always 15-20 people who did not complete the mandatory courses.”

The only solution was a human touch

Adam Sinclair, VinciWorks’ Director of Product was tasked with finding a solution. “We hired UX experts, social scientists, you name it; we threw every resource we had at the product. We tried iPhone apps, robo-calling and text-messaging. The best we could achieve was 85% compliance.”
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Policy Tracker 2.0 – unlimited policies, deployed in less than 3 minutes

VinciWorks has released version 2 of the Policy Tracker. The new system features:

  • Unlimited policies
  • Less than 3 minutes to deploy
  • One fixed price
  • No IT support required

What is a policy tracker?

It is a simple way to guarantee that users read, understand and acknowledge corporate policies. It sends policies to relevant staff and keeps track of who opened the policies, how long they spent reading them and who actively acknowledged them.

What is new in version 2.0?

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Introducing Risk Management System 2.0

VinciWorks has released version 2 of the Risk Management System. The new system features:

  • All new, modern design
  • Interactive dashboard
  • New graphical reports
  • Instant editing
  • And many more technical improvements

Overview of new features

Why a Risk Management System?

The SRA Handbook and Lexcel v6 clearly require that law firms have effective systems in place to properly manage risk. Using the VinciWorks Risk Management System will enable firms to satisfy legal requirements, easily generate reports, track risks, implement a control plan, and receive alerts when things are amiss.

SRA requirements

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