The Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS) will hold a 3.5-hour virtual workshop on September 24, 2026 focused on the fundamentals of writing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
The session, titled The Write Stuff: SAR Writing Fundamentals, is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time and is designed for professionals who are new to financial-crime compliance or moving into investigative and reporting roles.
According to ACFCS, the workshop will cover the core elements of a well-structured SAR and practical techniques for drafting narratives that are clear, concise and useful to regulators and law-enforcement agencies. The programme is intended to help participants identify the key facts that should be included in a report and turn investigative findings into a coherent narrative.
ACFCS describes the session as hands-on training rather than a high-level policy briefing. Its stated learning objectives include understanding the basic purpose and structure of SARs, identifying relevant facts for inclusion, and drafting straightforward narratives that meet regulatory expectations.
SAR quality remains a practical AML priority because suspicious-transaction reporting is only as useful as the information communicated to FIUs and investigators. Training that improves narrative clarity can therefore support both regulatory compliance and the operational value of financial intelligence.
