BSA/AML Compliance for Accounting Firms: What Managing Partners Need to Know Now

With 18 days until the April 15 deadline, tax preparers are juggling client needs, IRS processing delays, and major legislative changes all at once. "This season stands out as one of the most active I've seen in my career," said Brian Schultz, leader of wealth management tax practice at Plante Moran.

Here's how firms are navigating the final stretch without burning out.

Start Early, Stay Ahead

Sandra Johnson, CEO of Johnson CPA in Bellmore, New York, started extended hours on February 1 to get ahead of the rush. "We also brought on additional staff," she said. Her firm runs a tax season calendar with fun activities like Wine-down Wednesday, closing at 4 PM for happy hour to keep morale up.

Stephen Mankowski, founder of Mankowski Banks are watching accounting firms more closely when it comes to Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance. If your firm handles trust accounting, outsourced CFO work, or international tax planning, you are already on the radar.

Why This Matters for CPAs

BSA requirements center on recordkeeping, customer due diligence, and reporting suspicious transactions. For accounting firms: know who your clients really are (beneficial ownership), understand how their money flows, and have documented policies for escalating high-risk work.

Action Steps for Managing Partners

Standardize client onboarding. Create a formal intake checklist covering beneficial ownership, transaction patterns, key jurisdictions, and banking relationships.

Define BSA/AML risk triggers. Document red-flag scenarios such as opaque entities, unusual wire patterns, or sudden changes in payment flows, and how your firm will escalate or refuse such engagements.

Train technical staff and partners. Engagement teams must understand when to ask for more information and when to involve management before proceeding on complex structures.

Keep governance and workpapers aligned. Maintain clear meeting minutes, engagement letters, and workpapers that show how higher-risk arrangements were reviewed and approved at the partner level.

Bottom Line

BSA/AML compliance is not just a banking problem. If your firm handles client funds, complex structures, or cross-border cash flows, regulators expect strong internal controls and clear documentation. Treat BSA/AML readiness as an extension of your existing quality control practices.Associates CPA in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, calls it a "giant juggling act." He handles 600+ individual returns and uses downtime to knock out basic returns while waiting on business client information.

Communicate Constantly

Proactive communication is the difference between calm clients and panic calls. Many firms started months ago: Johnson sent emails, hosted webinars, and spoke at chamber of commerce events in January. "Many business owners did not understand all the changes that were going on," she said.

Manage Expectations Around IRS Delays

The IRS is processing an enormous volume of filings, and system timing can result in notices even when returns are accurate. "Clients are primarily concerned about uncertainty — whether that's around IRS notices, payment timing, or correctly applying payments to the right tax year," said Schultz.

Extensions Are Part of the Plan

Neil Fishman, principal of Fishman Associates CPAs, said some clients always go on extension. Andrea Parness, owner of A. Parness Co. CPA, outlined her busy-season strategy: weekly huddles, 90-day action plans, tax processing date cut-offs, and a limit on accepting new clients who must have a discovery session first.

Training Never Stops

Johnson's firm held lunch-and-learns every other week during the off-season to stay on top of tax law changes. "I try to be very proactive. Not reactive," she said.

Bottom Line

This season threw more at tax pros than usual: legislative changes, IRS process updates, new technology requirements, and client anxiety about delays. The firms thriving right now started early, communicated constantly, and built morale into their workflow.

Eighteen days left. If you're not already on extended hours, you're behind.

Source: Accounting Today, March 25, 2026