Anti-Money Laundering Compliance

This page explains MRS Bookkeeping’s anti-money laundering (AML) supervision, registration with HMRC as a tax agent, and the safeguards that apply when providing bookkeeping and related services to clients.

MRS Bookkeeping is supervised by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for anti-money laundering purposes and is registered with HMRC as a tax agent.

On this page:

1. In plain English

MRS Bookkeeping provides practical bookkeeping and related accounting support to sole traders, small businesses, landlords and community organisations.

MRS Bookkeeping is registered with HMRC for anti-money laundering (AML) supervision and separately registered as a tax agent.

This means I can provide bookkeeping and related services within my professional competence, insurance cover and agreed engagement terms. I can also act on behalf of clients in dealings with HMRC for supported tax services, once the appropriate client authorisation is in place.

Services may include organising and recovering financial records, ongoing bookkeeping, accounts preparation, payroll and PAYE administration, Self Assessment tax returns, VAT returns, Making Tax Digital (MTD) support and submissions, and related tax administration.

If a matter requires specialist expertise beyond my scope, I will explain this clearly and, where appropriate, help you find a suitable professional.

2. Business identity

MRS Bookkeeping is the trading name of Martin Richard Schmalenbach, operating as a sole trader.

Business address:

Muffins, West Lane, Dolton, Devon, EX19 8QU

3. Why AML supervision matters

Certain bookkeeping and accountancy services are subject to the UK’s anti-money laundering regulations.

MRS Bookkeeping is supervised by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) for anti-money laundering purposes as an accountancy service provider.

This supervision involves obligations to assess money laundering risks, verify client identities where required, maintain appropriate records and report suspicious activity where legally necessary.

These safeguards protect the integrity of financial services and help prevent the misuse of businesses for financial crime.

MRS Bookkeeping is also separately registered with HMRC as a tax agent. This enables clients to authorise me to represent them in supported tax matters, including relevant communications and submissions to HMRC.

HMRC supervision and tax-agent registration do not constitute HMRC endorsement or professional accreditation.

4. Services currently available

MRS Bookkeeping offers services designed to help clients understand their financial position, maintain reliable records and meet their bookkeeping, payroll, PAYE and tax administration obligations.

These may include:

  • Organising, reviewing and recovering financial records.
  • Identifying missing documents, transactions and supporting evidence.
  • Setting up and maintaining bookkeeping systems.
  • Recording, categorising and reconciling transactions.
  • Preparing financial statements and management information.
  • Preparing Self Assessment tax returns.
  • Preparing VAT returns and supporting Making Tax Digital requirements.
  • Processing payroll, administering PAYE and making agreed routine payroll submissions to HMRC.
  • Communicating with HMRC on behalf of authorised clients.
  • Helping clients understand routine bookkeeping and tax administration requirements.
  • Providing practical business and financial record-keeping guidance.

The precise services provided will depend on the client’s circumstances, my professional competence, available resources, insurance cover and the agreed scope of engagement.

You do not need to have everything organised before contacting MRS Bookkeeping. Helping people recover from incomplete or disorganised financial records is an important part of what I do.

5. Scope and limitations of services

MRS Bookkeeping provides bookkeeping, accounting support, tax administration, payroll and PAYE services within its professional competence and agreed scope of engagement.

Payroll and PAYE services cover only the tasks set out in the engagement. Employment law, human resources advice, pension advice and complex payroll matters may require support from an appropriately qualified specialist.

Some matters require additional specialist qualifications, experience or professional expertise. These may include complex tax planning, tax investigations, specialist company restructuring, audit work, regulated financial advice and legal advice.

Where an enquiry falls outside the services I can appropriately provide, I will explain the limitations and, where useful, help identify an appropriately qualified specialist.

Registration with HMRC for AML supervision and tax-agent services does not, by itself, establish competence or authorisation to provide every type of accounting, taxation or financial service.

Any engagement will clearly identify the work included and any significant exclusions.

6. What this means for clients

Working with MRS Bookkeeping means you can obtain practical help with your financial records and, where agreed, ongoing bookkeeping, payroll, PAYE and tax administration.

You can come to me with records that are incomplete, disorganised or difficult to understand. We can establish what exists, identify gaps and agree what needs to happen next.

Where payroll and PAYE services are agreed, I can process payroll, prepare payslips and payroll reports, make routine payroll submissions and support related HMRC administration, using the timely and accurate information you provide.

Where appropriate, the work can continue into preparing and maintaining proper bookkeeping records, producing financial information and dealing with relevant tax submissions.

As an HMRC-registered tax agent, I can also deal directly with HMRC on your behalf for agreed services, subject to the necessary client authorisation.

You remain responsible for providing accurate and complete information and meeting your legal obligations, but you do not have to manage every administrative task yourself.

The aim is to give you a clearer picture of your business finances and the confidence that important matters are being properly addressed.

7. Financial Record Rescue and similar work

Financial Record Rescue helps clients recover, reconstruct and organise financial records that are incomplete, inaccurate, disorganised or difficult to use.

Depending on the agreed scope, this may involve sorting and assessing source documents, reconstructing transactions, identifying missing evidence, reconciling accounts, correcting bookkeeping records and preparing financial reports.

Recovered records can form the foundation for ongoing bookkeeping, accounts preparation, tax returns, VAT reporting or Making Tax Digital compliance.

The objective is not simply to tidy paperwork. It is to establish records that are useful, understandable and supported by appropriate evidence, with any unresolved matters clearly identified.

8. If you already have an accountant

You can use MRS Bookkeeping even if you already work with an accountant.

I can help maintain your bookkeeping records, recover missing information, prepare financial reports and ensure the records supplied to your accountant are organised and usable.

Where appropriate, I can work alongside your accountant, with your permission, to help ensure that information is available when it is needed.

MRS Bookkeeping can also handle agreed tax administration directly where the appropriate HMRC agent authorisation is in place.

The aim is to complement existing professional relationships, avoid unnecessary duplication and make financial administration easier for you.

9. If specialist support is needed

Not every financial or tax question can, or should, be handled by a single bookkeeping practice.

If your situation requires specialist tax, legal, audit, investment or other professional advice beyond my competence or service scope, I will explain this.

Where appropriate, I can help you establish what information the specialist needs, prepare your existing records and identify a suitable professional to approach.

This allows MRS Bookkeeping to remain a useful first point of contact, even where another professional is better placed to handle a particular issue.

10. Identity checks

As part of my anti-money laundering obligations, MRS Bookkeeping carries out appropriate client identity verification and due diligence checks before beginning services where these are required.

Depending on the circumstances, I may need to establish and verify the identity of the client, relevant business owners or individuals who control the business, and understand the nature and purpose of the business relationship.

I will explain what information is needed, why it is required, how it should be supplied securely and how it will be handled.

These checks are a normal part of professional bookkeeping and accountancy services. Being asked to provide identification does not suggest that you are suspected of wrongdoing.

Please do not send identity documents or other confidential information until I have confirmed an appropriate secure method for providing them.

11. Confidential documents

Please do not send bank statements, ID documents, tax records, payroll information or other confidential documents until I have confirmed the appropriate secure handover method.

If we decide to proceed, I will explain how documents should be provided.

12. No client relationship until agreed

Submitting a form, sending an email, making an enquiry, or discussing a possible service does not create a client relationship.

No paid work starts without a clear written scope and agreed terms.

13. Professional status

MRS Bookkeeping is an independent bookkeeping practice operated by Martin Richard Schmalenbach as a sole trader.

  • Supervised by HMRC for anti-money laundering purposes.
  • Registered with HMRC as a tax agent.
  • Registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), registration number ZC104719.
  • Covered by professional indemnity insurance of £100,000.
  • DBS checked.

HMRC registration and supervision do not imply HMRC endorsement or accreditation of professional qualifications.

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15. Looking for something else?

If you want to know who owns and operates MRS Bookkeeping, see the Imprint / Business Details page.

If you want to know how your personal data is collected, used, stored and shared, see the Privacy Policy.

If you want to know how financial records, paperwork and digital files are handled, see the Data Handling / Client Records Notice.

If you want to make an enquiry, please use the Contact page or the Financial Record Rescue enquiry page.

16. Review and updates

This page is reviewed periodically and may be updated as MRS Bookkeeping’s services, supervision status, tools or legal obligations change.

17. Questions

If you are unsure whether your enquiry falls within the current service scope, please contact:

martin@mrsbookkeeping.co.uk (Contact page)

18. Last updated

23 October 2026

HMRC supervision is a regulatory status and does not mean that HMRC recommends or endorses MRS Bookkeeping.