Financial Services

In an increasingly complex and globalized financial world, combating financial crime is one of the biggest challenges for companies. Financial crime can not only cause significant financial losses, but can also sustainably damage a company’s reputation and entail serious legal consequences. Our Anti-Financial Crime Audit and Advisory Service offers you comprehensive support in order to effectively meet these challenges.

We have an experienced team of experts to help you meet regulatory requirements, minimize risks and optimize your business processes. Our approach combines in-depth industry knowledge with cutting-edge technology in order to develop customized solutions for your business. From conducting detailed audits to providing strategic advice and training your employees, we provide you with all the tools you need in order to proactively combat financial crime and protect your organization.

Our services (at a glance)

Audit services
•    Regulatory compliance audits: Anti-money laundering (AML), anti-fraud and sanctions compliance reviews.
•    Internal controls: Evaluation and improvement of internal control systems to prevent financial crime.
•    Risk assessments: Identification and assessment of risks related to financial crime.
•    Transaction audit: Detailed review of transactions to identify suspicious activities.
•    Risk management: Advice on implementing effective risk management systems to minimize financial crime risks.
•    Special audit in accordance with Art. 44 KWG: Conducting special audits in accordance with Art. 44 of the German Banking Act (KWG) to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. 

Advisory services
•    Strategy consulting: Development and implementation of strategies to combat financial crime.
•    Process optimization: Improvement and automation of processes to detect and prevent financial crime.
•    Use of technology: Use of the latest technologies to monitor and analyze transactions.
•    Regulatory updates: Ongoing advice and information on changes in the regulatory landscape and their impact on your company.

Training and workshops
•    Employee training: Training to raise awareness and educate your employees on anti-financial crime.
•    Workshops: Interactive workshops to develop best practices and strengthen compliance culture.

Forensic investigations
•    Investigation of incidents: Conducting detailed investigations into suspected financial crime.
•    Data analysis: Use of forensic data analysis to uncover suspicious activities and transactions.

Your added value
•    Regulatory security: Ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations and standards.
•    Risk minimization: Reducing the risk of financial crime through effective preventive measures.
•    Enhanced efficiency: Optimization of your business processes and reduction of operating costs.
•    Technological innovation: using the latest technologies to improve monitoring and control mechanisms.
 

The constant change in structures and products in the financial sector is at the same time giving rise to a variety of ever new regulatory requirements. In the coming years, companies in the financial sector will constantly have to deal with the implementation of new regulatory requirements. Efficient implementation of the new regulations and their effective use to optimise corporate organisation and risk management are therefore more important today than ever before. 

Current challenges for 2025 in the financial sector include in particular 

• The impact of macroeconomic changes on business activities 
• Stability and sustainability of business models  
• Implementation of CRR III / MaRisk 
• Measures to prevent financial offences 
• Requirements for ICT risk management from DORA  
• High requirements for data processing to prevent money laundering (AuA BT 6.2.3) 
• Implementation of ESG requirements 

Our services 

We will work with you to analyse how you can best prepare for the upcoming changes and introduce appropriate structures and processes. When it comes to extensive implementation projects, we are also the right people to talk to. 

Our team will customise the various regulations for you to ensure that your company remains up to date with the rapidly changing legal situation and meets the current requirements in the areas of supervisory law, reporting and compliance.

In a constantly changing digital and regulatory landscape, companies are faced with the challenge of meeting complex requirements and minimizing risks. Our FS IT Advisory team offers you tailor-made solutions in the areas of assurance, IT auditing and consulting so you can focus on your core business.

Assurance

Our audit services ensure that your systems and processes comply with regulatory requirements in the financial services sector. We support you with:
•    Audit of the service-related internal control system (ICS) at the banking service provider in accordance with ISAE 3402 or IDW PS 951 (type 1 and 2) incl.
•    Introduction as part of readiness assessments 
•    Audits in accordance with IDW PS 860, in particular as part of licensing procedures
•    Audit in accordance with ISAE 3000 and Agreed Upon Procedures (AUP)
•    Governance assurance in accordance with IDW PS 980-983
•    Special audits on IT topics, e.g., in accordance with Art. 44 KWG or WpHG
•    IT security audit in accordance with Art. 8a BSIG for “KRITIS” (critical infrastructure) banks

IT audit

We support your IT audit department in meeting regulatory requirements and strengthening your governance:
•    Performing audits on selected audit areas in accordance with the audit universe
•    Assumption of IT audit including risk analysis, derivation of audit plan, audit performance and reporting
•    Organizational consulting on the establishment and further development of an IT audit function
•    Quality gates in the process of remedying complaints, e.g., from regulatory audits

Consulting

Our consulting services help you to meet regulatory requirements and successfully pass audits:
•    Health checks for the implementation of regulatory requirements (e.g., DORA)
•    Service provider management as a service in order to meet regulatory requirements
•    Advice in the context of licensing audits to obtain a German banking license
•    Preparation, follow-up and support for audits (e.g., Art. 44 KWG or EinSiG)
•    Establishment and further development of IT-related ICS both in relation to general IT controls (ITGC) and in the area of business processes, services or governance (regulatory ICS)

With our long-standing and broad experience in the financial sector, we support you as a reliable partner. Thanks to our in-depth expertise in IT advisory for banks, asset managers, FinTechs and other companies in the financial services sector, we develop customized solutions that are optimally tailored to your specific requirements and challenges. With our advisory services, you not only master your digital and regulatory challenges – you also establish a secure and future-proof foundation for your company.

The development, conception, ongoing advice and auditing of investment funds as well as the support of capital management companies is one of Baker Tilly’s key areas of expertise. We have developed expert knowledge in this area through many years of experience and have achieved a high market share.

The Fund Solutions division deals exclusively with auditing and advising investment service providers as well as the valuation of funds and property companies in accordance with the KAGB. Our clients include numerous renowned capital management companies. We manage countless investment funds in a wide range of asset classes (real estate, private equity, shipping, renewable energies).

Our team of experts has access to all important information and is familiar with the processes required under the KAGB. Thanks to our activities in several industry associations and our close client contact with numerous capital management companies, we are always up to date with the latest information and know the BaFin's perspective on important current regulatory issues and innovations in the distribution approval process. We can respond successfully to current developments in the shortest possible time. It is particularly important for us to maintain the highest quality standards, to create added value for our clients through a high level of expertise and industry competence, to meet your deadlines and to maintain a cooperative relationship with our clients.

We offer you comprehensive advice in the following areas:

Fund concept

On the way from the idea to the marketable product, initiators must take in to account numerous legal, tax and business aspects. We guide you along this difficult path with an interdisciplinary team of experts from the fields of auditing, tax and legal advice.
We assist you with the conception of closed-end funds of all kinds, such as real estate funds, private equity funds, renewable energy funds, ship funds and other special funds, whether open or closed-end funds, public AIFs or special AIFs.

In connection with the fund conception, our services include:
•    Economic advice on the conception of closed-end funds: Preparation / review of the fund calculation including investment and financing plan, capital return calculation and sensitivity analyses, taking into account the requirements pursuant to KAGB, German Capital Investment Accounting and Valuation Ordinance (KARBV) and tax law, based on your specific specifications.
•    Tax advice on the conception of funds to the development of a complete tax concept and the preparation of tax opinions. Upon request, we check whether your tax concept complies with tax laws as well as published case law and administrative opinions. For international fund structures, we work with our partners from the international Baker Tilly network to offer you tax advice and optimization for all countries concerned from a single source.
•    Advice from our lawyers on the drafting of contracts including investment conditions
•    Accompanying the distribution approval procedure with BaFin
•    Draft wording / templates for the mandatory information in the prospectus and in the key investor information. Upon request, preparation of a prospectus text that complies with statutory and professional requirements.
•    Review of sales prospectuses in accordance with KAGB, German Asset Investment Act (VermAnlG) and the German Ordinance on Investment Prospectuses

(VermVerkProspV) and preparation of prospectus reports
•    Preparation / review of information in accordance with Art. 307 KAGB for special AIFs
•    Plausibility checks of fund products. This includes an audit with standard critical expertise in accordance with the requirements of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) and comprises all audit procedures normally required by sales partners.
•    Review of advertising materials (e.g., product information, brochures, presentations, promotional films, etc.) for WpHG compliance (Art. 63 (6) WpHG, Art. 302 KAGB).
•    Examination of “MiFID II” conformity (in particular target market definition, calculation and presentation of cost transparency information).

Ongoing management of investment funds

We offer a wide range of services for existing investment funds, including the following:
•    Audit of the annual financial statements or, alternatively, preparation of the bookkeeping and annual financial statements 
•    Audit of statements of net assets
•    Current tax advice
•    Preparation of tax returns, including the distribution of taxable income and review of tax assessment notices. For funds invested abroad, we also offer tax declarations and tax advice abroad through our partners in the international Baker Tilly network.
•    Support during tax audits
•    Special engagements, e.g., advisory support for restructuring or reorganization or advice on liquidation

Auditing and advising capital management companies

In addition to the services described above in connection with fund concept and the ongoing management of investment assets, we also offer the following services for capital management companies:
•    Assistance with the licensing/registration of capital management companies and license extensions: Our experts have already successfully accompanied numerous licensing procedures since the KAGB came into force and use their expertise comprehensively to relieve our clients so they can focus on their actual business.
•    Audit of annual financial statements or, alternatively, preparation of bookkeeping and annual financial statements
•    Tax advice, tax declaration
•    Internal audit: With many years of auditing and consulting experience in the investment sector, we also act as internal auditors. The result is market- and company-oriented feedback that enables efficient corporate management, while naturally complying with all legal requirements.
•    Compliance: Here too, we can draw on our decades of experience in the world of banks and financial service providers combined with our expertise in the contractually highly complex world of closed-end products. As a result, we are often already able to assess where the world of compliance in the area of regulated capital management companies is heading.
•    Capital management supervisory requirements for IT (“KAIT”): Thanks to our high level of IT expertise from various implementation, consulting and audit engagements, we know the practical problems from the world of fund accounting as well as the management of risks in a capital management company. Together with our IT specialists, we have already tried and tested the implementation in the strict world of IT requirements for capital management companies many times.
•    Regulatory reporting
•    External valuations of operating companies and property companies in accordance with the KAGB: BT Advisory & Valuation GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft is registered with BaFin as an external appraiser and in particular also performs purchase and follow-up valuations of company investments for open and closed-end AIFs.
•    Review of performance reports / performance records
 

Audit

Our auditing services include in particular

• Audits of annual and consolidated financial statements in accordance with German HGB and IFRS
• Audits in accordance with Art. 89 WpHG (German Securities Trading Act)
• Audits of annual financial statements in accordance with KAGB (German Capital Investment Code) and WpIG (German Securities Institutions Act)
• Special audits in accordance with Art. 44 (1) KWG (German Banking Act) and Art. 35 (1) WpHG
• Internal audit

Under our guiding principles of quality and client satisfaction, our audit approach is characterized by a high presence of the responsible partners and managers on site, which ensures that a competent contact person is available to you at all times. A key principle is to guarantee our clients personnel continuity and fixed contact persons. This also extends beyond the actual project/audit activities.
Decisions are made by the responsible auditors. They are supported by our National Office. This enables us to answer technical questions directly and without unnecessary waiting times.

Your advantage:

• Efficient and targeted execution of the audit and reduced workload for your employees

Accounting

Our accounting services include in particular: 

• Preparation of annual financial statements
• Support with complex issues in connection with the preparation of annual financial statements
• Quality assurance as part of an audit readiness review

In connection with the outsourcing of your accounting, we assume the proper implementation of financial accounting as the basis for the preparation of monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and annual financial statements. In addition to the accounting of all business transactions, this also includes the option of taking over payroll accounting and, if required, the preparation of reporting packages for group companies.
If you are not looking to outsource your accounting completely, our team of experts will also be happy to answer individual accounting-related questions.

Audit Readiness Review

Our Audit Readiness Review supports you in preparing for upcoming audits in a targeted and efficient manner. We examine the requirements arising from the respective audit, thus ensuring that everything runs smoothly. As special audits (e.g., Art. 44 of the German Banking Act) are often tightly scheduled, we are naturally also available at very short notice.
Our expertise covers all areas, such as asset quality review, stress tests, regulatory requirements, risk management and business organization, overall bank management, money laundering prevention, lending business, trading business, etc.

Your advantages:

• Structured audit planning and transparency in the upcoming audit
• For first-time or regularly recurring audits, we relieve your capacities and enable accelerated implementation 
• For follow-up audits, i.e., in response to identified deficiencies, we develop a catalog of measures tailored to your company and monitor the corresponding implementation
   

Our expertise and approach to risk management and regulations

Dear clients and interested parties, do you have any questions or are you looking for support in optimizing your risk management systems, implementing relevant regulatory requirements or eliminating identified deficiencies?

Our experienced team of experts is familiar with the risk management systems along all three lines of defense of banks, capital management companies and financial services companies. We develop customized solutions taking into account your business model, relevant regulatory requirements and the principle of proportionality as well as current technical developments.

We support you throughout the entire development cycle of your risk management systems, from the development of a vision, through design and implementation, to the elimination of known deficiencies. We develop our customized solutions taking into account current technical potential, available data, relevant regulatory requirements and current supervisory expectations under the highest quality standards. Our expertise covers all aspects of your risk management systems: governance and processes, methods and procedures as well as internal risk reports and tools.

How can we support you?

Advisory Solutions

• Strategy consulting: Development of a vision and an implementation plan for the further development of risk management and risk controlling.
• Impact analysis: Conducting impact analyses and developing implementation plans to meet relevant regulatory requirements (e.g., MaRisk (minimum requirements for risk management), CRR, KaMaRisk (minimum risk management requirements for capital management companies), WpIG (German Securities Institutions Act)).
• Regulatory compliance: Implementation of identified improvement measures in your risk management systems and/or rectification of deviations with regard to relevant regulatory requirements, taking into account the principle of proportionality.
• Further development of the internal control system (ICS): evaluation and further development of the ICS along the risk management cycles for financial and non-financial risks.
• Development of your risk management processes in the first line of defense (including treasury, trading and settlement) to reduce residual risks and increase efficiency.
• Technical optimization: Improvement of processes along the risk management cycle, taking into account current technical developments to increase effectiveness and efficiency.
• Integration of internal processes: Design and implementation of potential improvements to integrate risk management processes between central risk management and other functions (including compliance, outsourcing management and management of IT risks).
• Measurement and assessment: Development and optimization of methods and procedures for identifying, assessing and measuring financial and non-financial risks.

Audit Services

• Internal audit: Conducting first and second line of defense risk management audits
• Audit preparation: Preparing your risk management systems for a potential external audit
• Elimination of deficiencies: Working through identified deficiencies in risk management and risk controlling
• Validation: independent validation of your models and procedures
• Trainings and Workshops
• Management training: Conducting management, executive and supervisory board training to improve understanding of relevant regulatory requirements and current developments
• Employee training: Training aimed at strengthening a conscious management of known and unknown risks in order to strengthen the risk culture in the first and second lines of defense
• Workshops: Conducting workshops along the three lines of defense on current challenges and to identify potential improvements or solutions (including new regulatory requirements, strengthening the risk culture)
• What is your added value?
• Clear vision: Orientation with regard to strategic further development, maturity of the risk management system and development of potential for improvement
• Efficiency and effectiveness: Optimization of governance and risk management processes in the first and/or second line of defense, taking into account relevant regulatory requirements
• Regulatory clarity: implementation of relevant regulatory requirements, taking into account your business model and the principle of proportionality 
• Efficient methods and procedures: Development and adaptation of your methods and procedures for identifying and measuring financial and non-financial risks

​​​​​​​Trainings and Workshops

• Management training: Conducting management, executive and supervisory board training to improve understanding of relevant regulatory requirements and current developments
• Employee training: Training aimed at strengthening a conscious management of known and unknown risks in order to strengthen the risk culture in the first and second lines of defense
• Workshops: Conducting workshops along the three lines of defense on current challenges and to identify potential improvements or solutions (including new regulatory requirements, strengthening the risk culture)

What is your added value?

• Clear vision: Orientation with regard to strategic further development, maturity of the risk management system and development of potential for improvement
• Efficiency and effectiveness: Optimization of governance and risk management processes in the first and/or second line of defense, taking into account relevant regulatory requirements
• Regulatory clarity: implementation of relevant regulatory requirements, taking into account your business model and the principle of proportionality 
• Efficient methods and procedures: Development and adaptation of your methods and procedures for identifying and measuring financial and non-financial risks