When I stepped away from Learning and Development to move into Anti Money Laundering investigations and analysis, it felt like the right decision.
I wanted hands-on experience in a field I had grown to genuinely appreciate. I wanted to go beyond theory and understand financial crime from the inside.
And in many ways, it was exactly what I hoped for.
I worked with a strong team. The environment was fast-paced and meaningful. For the first time, I was seeing financial crime not as a concept, but as something real, complex, and unfolding.
Everything seemed to fall into place.
Until I came across something I had not fully anticipated.
Writing Suspicious Activity Reports.
At first, I assumed this would be straightforward.
I understood financial crime risks. I knew how to investigate. I was confident in my communication.
But very quickly, I realised something important.
Understanding financial crime and writing a clear SAR narrative are two very different skills!!
The feedback began to come in.
Narratives needed restructuring. Descriptions needed clarity. Language needed precision. The overall report needed to be stronger.
What I expected to be routine became one of the most challenging aspects of the role.
And over time, something shifted.
The work that once felt exciting started to feel heavy. I began to question every sentence.
Was this clear enough?
Was the structure right?
Would someone else understand this the way I intended?
That uncertainty did not just affect my writing. It began to affect my thinking.
Because when you are unsure how to present your findings, it becomes harder to think clearly in the first place.
It took time to understand what makes an effective Suspicious Activity Report.
Not just accurate. But clear. Structured. Objective. Useful.
There was training available, and it did provide a solid foundation in financial crime concepts. But something was missing.
No one really focused on the critical skill of translating analysis into a professional narrative that others can act on.
How do you connect facts into a logical flow?
How do you present risk without overcomplicating it?
How do you write in a way that supports decision making?
These were things I had to learn through experience.
That experience stayed with me long after.
Because I realised something simple.
We spend a lot of time teaching people how to identify financial crime. But far less time teaching them how to communicate it effectively.
And that matters.
Because analysis may vary. But the quality of reporting cannot.
In financial crime compliance, clarity is not a nice-to-have. It is essential.
Over time, a few principles became clear to me:
- Clarity - The reader should never have to guess what you mean
- Structure - Information must flow logically
- Objectivity - Facts should speak, not assumptions
- Professional language - Precision builds credibility
These are not advanced skills. But they are rarely taught in a structured way.
My journey across banking and financial crime shaped how I see this gap.
From payments and service recovery to credit, operations, and investigations, I saw how different functions interact with risk.
Alongside this, I continued my work in Learning and Development for over 15 years, building programs, training professionals, and understanding how people actually learn.
Becoming a Certified Financial Crime Specialist added another layer of depth.
And over time, one thing became very clear.
The challenge is not just identifying risk. It is communicating it in a way that leads to action.
What felt difficult at the time became one of the most valuable lessons in my career.
Because it revealed a gap that still exists today.
Many professionals entering AML and financial crime roles know what to look for.
But far fewer feel confident in how to write and present their findings.
So I built something I wish I had back then.
A structured, practical learning experience focused specifically on SAR narrative writing.
Not theory.
Not regulations.
But the skill of writing clearly, professionally, and with purpose.
Sometimes, the most frustrating challenges early in our careers turn out to be the most defining.
They change how we think.
They shape what we value.
And eventually, they guide what we choose to build.
For me, SAR writing was one of those challenges.
And today, it is something I care deeply about helping others navigate with more clarity, confidence, and understanding.
