Financial statements, such as the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement, provide the most comprehensive and verifiable record of a business customer's financial activities. During an Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) process, these documents are essential for understanding a company's revenue streams, profitability, and overall financial health. They allow an analyst to corroborate the stated nature of the business with its actual financial performance, thereby providing a clear and reliable picture of its legitimate source of funds. This is a critical step in assessing and mitigating the risks associated with high-risk corporate customers.

B. Company's website: This is a marketing tool that describes the business but is not a verifiable financial record and cannot be relied upon for EDD.

C. Utility bill: This document is used to verify a customer's physical address, not their financial activities or source of funds.

D. Articles of incorporation: This legal document establishes the company's existence and structure but contains no financial data regarding its source of funds.

1. ACAMS Certified Know Your Customer Associate (CKYCA) Study Guide

(2022). Chapter 3: "Elements of a KYC Program

" Section on Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD). The guide specifies that for high-risk corporate customers

EDD measures include obtaining and analyzing financial statements to understand the customer's business operations and verify their source of funds and wealth.

2. Financial Action Task Force (FATF). (2023). The FATF Recommendations: International Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation. Recommendation 10

Interpretive Note

paragraph 19. The note states that for higher-risk customers

financial institutions should perform enhanced CDD measures

which includes taking reasonable measures to establish the source of funds. For a legal person (a business)

audited financial statements are a primary document for this purpose.

3. The Wolfsberg Group. (2020). Statement on Effectiveness. Section: "Outcomes of an Effective AML/CTF Programme

" page 4. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding the customer

including their business and sources of wealth/funds. For corporate entities

this understanding is fundamentally derived from official financial documentation.