GWP-Digital combines legal requirements with everyday law firm life.
Anti-money laundering measures have long been part of the daily work routine for tax firms. Clients must be vetted, beneficial owners identified, risks assessed, and measures documented transparently. At the same time, implementation must remain efficient and integrate seamlessly into existing firm processes.
This is precisely where the software solution from fino taxtech GmbH comes in. “GWP-Digital” (Digital Anti-Money Laundering). The solution supports tax offices in digitally, structurally, and transparently mapping key audit steps according to the Money Laundering Act. KYCnow powered by SCHUFA brings experience from digital solutions to this endeavor. Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and money laundering prevention.
In the interview, Inga Krämer, Managing Director of fino taxtech GmbH, and Stephanie Zimmermann, Managing Director of fino taxtech GmbH and seconded Managing Director of DATEV, discuss why money laundering prevention is becoming increasingly important for law firms, how GWP-Digital provides support in practice, and what role the collaboration with KYCnow plays in this.
Regulatory requirements meet everyday law firm life
Inga Krämer, Managing Director of fino taxtech GmbH
Inga Krämer: Money laundering prevention is no longer a special issue for tax firms, but rather part of their professional responsibility. Tax advisors regularly have access to sensitive economic information, such as company structures, shareholdings, payment flows, financing, and beneficial owners. For precisely this reason, they are obligated to identify risks, carefully vet clients, and transparently document their decisions.
In practice, this means that money laundering prevention must function where the day-to-day operations of a law firm take place. It cannot simply be understood theoretically, but must be translated into concrete processes. This is where we aim to support you with GWP-Digital.
What challenges do law firms encounter most frequently when implementing their AML obligations?
Stephanie Zimmermann: Many law firms are generally aware that they must comply with anti-money laundering regulations. The challenge often lies in the practical organization. Information is scattered across various systems, documents are filed manually, audit statuses are not always readily apparent, and updates must be tracked during ongoing operations.
This is particularly challenging because law firms are already under considerable time and resource pressure. If money laundering prevention is then organized manually on top of that, it quickly leads to a high administrative burden. Our goal is to make this process clearer, more structured, and more transparent.
Stephanie Zimmermann, Managing Director of fino taxtech GmbH and seconded Managing Director of DATEV
What, in your view, is needed to improve money laundering prevention in law firms? Is it feasible?
Inga Krämer: Above all, structure is needed. Money laundering prevention consists of many individual steps: client due diligence, identification of beneficial owners, risk assessment, screenings, documentation, and regular reviews. If these steps are handled individually and manually, things quickly become unwieldy.
A digital solution can provide guidance here. It leads through the process, compiles relevant information, and makes it clear which checks have already been carried out and where further action is needed. This creates security and simultaneously reduces the workload in day-to-day operations.
The role of GWP-Digital
What is the idea behind GWP-Digital?
Stephanie Zimmermann: GWP-Digital was developed to make money laundering prevention practical for tax firms. From the outset, it was important to us not just to provide a technical solution, but a solution that takes into account the actual processes in tax firms. GWP-Digital was developed with tax advisors for tax advisors.
Tax firms need a structured digital process that supports them in fulfilling their legal obligations while significantly reducing organizational effort. GWP-Digital is designed precisely for this purpose. As a subsidiary of DATEV, the highest security and legal compliance are our top priorities.
What specific testing steps does GWP-Digital support?
Inga Krämer: GWP-Digital provides support for client due diligence, the collection and verification of relevant data, name and media screening, the identification of beneficial owners, risk assessment, and the documentation of results. This integrates key components of the money laundering prevention process into a single solution. The results are then compiled into a client risk report and a firm risk report.
It is important to note that the final decision remains with the tax advisor. GWP-Digital does not provide a legal assessment, but rather offers a targeted evaluation using a practical traffic light system and helps to better process information and document decisions transparently.
Partnership and integration with KYCnow
How did the collaboration with KYCnow come about?
Inga Krämer: The collaboration was a natural fit from a professional perspective. GWP-Digital is specifically geared towards tax firms and was developed with an understanding of their requirements. KYCnow, on the other hand, brings extensive experience in digital KYC and AML processes. Both perspectives complement each other very well.
Within the fino group, we can combine these competencies: the law firm perspective, regulatory requirements, technological implementation, and experience from highly regulated markets. This results in a solution that is both technically sound and practical.
What role does KYCnow play within GWP-Digital?
Stephanie Zimmermann: KYCnow brings specialized technology and data expertise to the solution. This includes experience with structured KYC processes, the vetting of individuals and companies, and relevant risk information.
This is extremely valuable for GWP-Digital because tax firms need reliable information to efficiently fulfill their due diligence obligations. By connecting to KYCnow and the stored SCHUFA data, key verification steps can be digitally supported and better integrated into the overall process. This allows us to guarantee an excellent database from over 1.800 different PEP, sanctions, terrorism, and embargo lists, against which clients can be checked.
Inga Krämer: For law firms, KYCnow's role primarily means more structure and less manual research. Relevant client data, beneficial owners, screening results, and risk assessments can be combined in a digital process. This makes it easier to see what information is available, what checks have been carried out, and what measures have been documented.
This not only simplifies daily work but also improves later traceability. Especially with regulatory issues, it is important that decisions are not only made but also properly documented – particularly with regard to audits by the tax advisor chambers.
With many years of experience in the financial sector, KYC expertise is now being implemented in a practical way for everyday law firm operations.
Data quality and process reliability
Why does data quality play such an important role in money laundering prevention?
Stephanie Zimmermann: High-quality data helps to prepare audits effectively and make them more robust. It ensures that law firms can work more thoroughly and waste less time searching for information. This is precisely why the combination of digital processes and reliable data sources is so important. Data quality and security are paramount to us. Therefore, we exclusively use data that is processed and stored entirely on servers located in Germany.
How does GWP-Digital help law firms keep track of everything?
Stephanie Zimmermann: GWP-Digital makes the audit process more structured and transparent. The added value lies not only in the digitization of individual tasks, but in combining these tasks into a traceable overall process. This makes money laundering prevention more predictable and easier to manage.
The future of money laundering prevention in tax offices
How will money laundering prevention develop in tax offices?
Inga Krämer: I am convinced that money laundering prevention will be understood even more strongly in the future as an integrated component of modern law firm processes. It will not be sufficient to consider individual due diligence obligations in isolation. Client due diligence, risk assessment, screening, documentation, and monitoring are all interconnected. At the same time, money laundering prevention is not the primary task of advisors. It is therefore essential to meet the requirements reliably and with maximum efficiency.
Digitalization can make a significant contribution here. It helps to integrate regulatory requirements into the daily work of law firms in a streamlined and structured manner.
Stephanie Zimmermann: Regulatory requirements will continue to evolve, and law firms must prepare for the ongoing relevance of anti-money laundering measures. The EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, due on July 10, 2027, demonstrates that the issue is being further harmonized and strengthened at the European level.
For law firms, this means: It pays to establish stable processes early on. Those who create structures today, organize data cleanly, and raise employee awareness of the issue are significantly better prepared for future requirements and audits, which will become increasingly frequent and stringent in the future.
What role should GWP-Digital play in this development?
Inga Krämer: Our aim is to support tax firms as a reliable partner in money laundering prevention over the long term. GWP-Digital is designed not only to simplify individual audit steps, but also to make the entire process more understandable, structured, and efficient.
We are continuously developing the solution, taking into account regulatory requirements, technological possibilities, and, above all, feedback from legal practice.
