InackGuardWho this guide is for
This guide is for analysts, operations staff and managers who read screening and due-diligence reports and must decide what to do next. It assumes no specialist background. It explains each part of a typical report, how to interpret scores and news items, and how to turn what you read into a recorded decision that holds up later. If you review reports occasionally, read it once and keep the checklist nearby; if you review them every day, use it to agree a common standard across your team.
Start with the result word
A good report opens with a plain result: clear, review or escalate. It is a summary for the analyst, not a decision. Clear means nothing in the report needs a person's attention. Review means at least one finding needs a look. Escalate means something serious enough to involve a senior reviewer.
Then the findings, in order
Findings should be ranked by how much they need a person, not by the order sources were searched. For each finding, look for:
The coverage table is not optional
The coverage table lists every source that was searched and every source that could not be. Read it every time. If a register was unavailable or a list could not be reached, a clean result does not mean what it appears to mean.
Treat a source that could not be searched as an open item: re-run later, check manually, or record why it does not matter for this case.
Next steps and the record
The end of the report should tell you what to confirm and how, and show the evidence record: an identifier for the sealed record, the policy version and a clear statement that the report is not a decision.
Your decision belongs in your own record, linked to the report, with your reason.
Common mistakes
A worked example
A report on a logistics company comes back as Review. The first finding is a possible match on an export-control list at 84%: the name is similar, but the listed company is registered in another country with a different address. The second finding confirms the company is registered and active. The coverage table shows one register could not be searched that day.
The analyst clears the export-control match on the country and address conflict, notes the register gap and schedules a re-run for the next day. The re-run completes the coverage, and the analyst records the final decision with both reports attached.
How to read each finding
Checklist
A deeper look: scores and tiers
A match score expresses how similar two names and their details are. It is not a probability that the person is the listed party. Two different people with identical common names will score highly; one person whose name was transliterated differently may score lower than you expect.
Tiers group scores into actions. A strong match should be escalated; a possible match reviewed; a weak lead noted. When reading a finding, look past the number to the reasons listed: which parts of the name matched, whether an alias was involved, and which details supported or contradicted the match.
A deeper look: adverse media findings
News findings need extra care. Ask: is this about the same person or company? Is the source credible? Is the story recent and still relevant? Was the matter resolved? A report should give you the publisher, the date and the reason the item was linked to your subject, plus a caution where identity is uncertain.
Record your judgement on each item, especially when you decide it is about someone else or no longer relevant.
Questions people ask
Why does a report say review when nothing looks wrong? Usually because a source could not be searched, or because a weak finding needs a person to confirm. Check the coverage table and the findings list.
Can we rely on a clear result for a year? No. Lists and news change. Decide a re-check frequency by risk, or use monitoring.
Should we share the report with the customer? Generally not, and never where it would tip off a subject of a suspicious-activity report. Share what you need to request information.
Sharing a report internally
When you pass a report to a colleague or approver, add a short note: what you checked, what you found, what you decided and why. A two-line note saves the next reader from repeating your work and makes your reasoning part of the record.
Turning a report into a decision
A report is the start of a decision, not the end. A good routine looks like this:
Keep the report, your decision and any information you requested together, so the full picture can be seen later in one place.
If you review many reports, agree standard phrases for common outcomes. They make decisions faster to write, easier to search, and more consistent across reviewers.
Key terms
Summary
A screening report is designed to be read in a particular order: the result word for urgency, the findings for substance, the coverage table for gaps, and the next steps for action. A score is a measure of similarity, not a verdict, and a clear result is only as good as the sources that were actually searched. News findings need extra care about identity and relevance. Turn every report into a recorded decision with a short reason someone else could follow, set a review date by risk, and keep the report, the decision and any information you requested together. Consistent phrases for common outcomes make a team faster and its decisions easier to defend. Treat the report as evidence for your judgement, never as a substitute for it.