Overview
When you monitor a business client, Legl screens the business against sanctions, warning and adverse media sources, and checks the company against Dun and Bradstreet (DnB) company monitoring data. Two separate settings panels control this. Business screening settings create the default screening profile applied when a business is added to monitoring. Company monitoring settings control which company updates create alerts, and what priority each has when your team receives them. This article explains what each option means, so you can decide what to include.
What this covers
The business screening categories used when adding a business to monitoring
How adverse media risk types are grouped into AML-relevant and non-AML categories
The company monitoring alert categories used when monitoring business clients
What each category and alert means
How the High, Med and Low priority works
The additional filters and thresholds available for some alerts
How business screening settings work
Business screening settings create a default screening profile that is used when you add a business to monitoring. Each category represents a different type of risk that Legl screens the business against. When a category is enabled, any matches found in that category are returned in the business’s results for your team to review.
Some categories can be refined further. For warnings, you can choose which source jurisdictions to include. For adverse media, select Choose types to pick which risk types to screen for. A badge shows how many are on, for example "7 of 14 types enabled".
These settings apply as a firm-wide default, for screening at onboarding as well as ongoing monitoring, and affect all users. The Business tab also has:
Settings impact analyser: select Business screening, then Run analyser, to preview how your settings would change the number of results, which categories are affected, and which results would be included or excluded, and why.
Version history: see who changed these settings and when, with the previous and new value for each setting.
Reset configuration: remove your custom screening profile and go back to Legl's default settings.
ℹ️ Important
When your firm has not activated a custom screening profile, warnings and adverse media are only returned when a sanctions match is found. Once a custom screening profile is active, the categories you have enabled apply to all businesses, so warnings and adverse media are no longer limited to sanctions matches.
Where to find business screening settings in Legl
Select Governance in the left-hand menu, then Custom monitoring.
Select the Business tab. The business screening profile is in the Business screening panel.
The business screening categories
Each category below can be turned on or off. Here is what each one covers.
Sanctions
Matches the business against sanctions lists issued by governments and international bodies, such as OFSI (UK), the Australian Sanctions Office (DFAT), OFAC, the EU, and the UN. Being named on a sanctions list is one of the most serious results, as firms must not act for sanctioned individuals or entities.
Warnings
Flags businesses named on regulator and law enforcement warning lists, including investor alerts and disciplinary notices.
You can also choose which warning sources to include by jurisdiction:
International warnings: global and international sources, such as the UN, Interpol, the World Bank, and other cross-border lists
Domestic warnings: warning sources from the firm’s or the screened business’s registered country
Non-domestic warnings: warning sources from countries outside the firm’s or the screened business’s registered country. This is marked High volume, as it tends to return a high volume of results
Adverse media
Surfaces negative news coverage about a business. Adverse media is broken down into individual risk types, grouped into AML-relevant and non-AML categories, so you can screen for only the types relevant to your firm.
Adverse media risk types and country options
Adverse media risk types are split into two groups. AML-relevant types cover risks most closely linked to money laundering and terrorist financing. Non-AML types cover other reputational or conduct risks that may still matter depending on your firm’s risk appetite. You can turn a whole group on or off with its toggle (AML related or Non-AML risk types), or select Choose types to turn each type on or off.
AML related
General concerns: coverage linking the business to money laundering or financial-crime concerns that do not fall under a more specific type
Financial crime: coverage linking the business to money laundering, bribery, corruption, tax evasion, or similar financial crime
Fraud-linked: coverage linking the business to fraud, scams, or deception offences
Narcotics: coverage linking the business to drug trafficking or other narcotics offences
Terrorism financing: coverage linking the business to terrorism or the financing of terrorism
Cybercrime: coverage linking the business to hacking, online fraud, or other cyber-enabled crime
Violence: coverage linking the business to violent crime connected to money laundering or terrorist financing
Non-AML risk types
Regulatory breaches: coverage about regulatory or compliance breaches that are not money laundering offences in themselves
Financial difficulty: coverage about insolvency, bankruptcy, or other financial difficulty
Other financial misconduct: coverage about financial misconduct that falls outside the AML-relevant financial crime type
Property crime: coverage linking the business to theft, burglary, or other property crime
Violence: coverage linking the business to violent crime not connected to money laundering or terrorist financing
Other serious: coverage about other serious crimes not covered by the types above
Other minor: coverage about minor offences. This is marked High volume, as it tends to return a high volume of results
Include articles from any country
When this is off, adverse media is only included when the article’s country matches the firm’s or the screened business’s registered country. This keeps results focused on local clients. When it is on, adverse media is included regardless of country.
How company monitoring settings work
Company monitoring settings are grouped into sections: Company details, Leadership, Ownership, Legal events, Credit risk, Financials, and Miscellaneous. Each section can be turned on or off, and each individual alert within a section can also be turned on or off. Most alerts also have a priority: High, Med or Low. The priority controls how the alert is categorised when your team receives it. It does not change whether the update is detected.
Some alerts have additional filters or thresholds you can set, such as a percentage change, a score cut-off, or a country or postcode filter. These only apply once the alert itself is turned on. Changes are saved as you make them and apply from then on. Alerts already received are not changed. These settings apply as a firm-wide default and affect all users.
The Settings impact analyser shows how your company monitoring settings would affect the alerts your firm receives. Select Company monitoring, then Run analyser. It applies the settings to your firm’s monitoring activity from the last 90 days and shows how many recent monitoring events would create alerts, broken down by monitoring area and by individual alert. Change a setting and run it again to compare. This is useful for the alerts marked "High volume".
ℹ️ Important
These settings replace the previous company monitoring settings, which grouped alerts into Credit, Financial, and Miscellaneous. Your existing preferences were carried forward automatically:
Credit maps to Other credit updates (in Credit risk),
Financial maps to Other financial updates (in Financials)
Miscellaneous is unchanged.
If a category was previously switched off, it remains off under these settings.
Where to find company monitoring settings in Legl
Select Governance in the left-hand menu, then Custom monitoring.
Select the Business tab. The alert categories are in the Company monitoring panel, with columns for Alert type, Threshold and Priority.
ℹ️ Further guidance
For step-by-step help changing these settings, see:
How to configure monitoring settings.
The company monitoring alert categories
Each category below can be turned on or off, and given a High, Med or Low priority. A category marked "High volume" typically generates a large number of alerts, so consider this before enabling it or giving it a High priority.
Company details
Status, registration details, and basic company information.
Company status change: for example, active to dissolved, in liquidation, or administration
Address change: the registered or primary address moves. Choose how narrowly this alerts: only a move to a high-risk country, a move to a different country, a country or postcode change, or any address change including a street-level change
Share capital change: a change in issued share capital or share structure
Company name change: the business changes its registered or trading name
Legal registration change: changes to legal form, registration numbers, or incorporation date
Nature of business change: changes to the company's reported business activities
Document filings
Documents filed at the company registry, for example Companies House. These alerts sit within Company details and are not listed separately in the settings menu.
Amended accounts filed: previously filed accounts are amended or restated
Routine registry filings (High volume): confirmation statements, annual returns, and standard accounts filings
Other registry filings: any other document filed at the registry
Leadership
Directors, key individuals, and the company's most senior officer.
Director appointment: a new director is appointed
Director termination: a director's appointment is terminated or they resign
Director details changed: a director's role, identity, associations, or location changes
Director responsibilities changed (High volume): a director's signing authority or areas of responsibility change
Most senior officer changed: the person recorded as the company's most senior officer changes, often the CEO or managing director
Most senior officer — role or authority (High volume): their job title, signing authority, or areas of responsibility change
Most senior officer — personal details: identity or association changes; location moves use your country or postcode filter
Key individual added: an owner, member, partner, trustee, or senior managing official, for example a CEO or CFO, is recorded
Key individual removed: an owner, member, partner, trustee, or senior managing official is no longer recorded
Key individual details changed: a key individual's role, identity, associations, or location changes
Key individual responsibilities changed (High volume): a key individual's signing authority or areas of responsibility change
Ownership
Shareholder, control, and corporate structure changes.
Shareholder added: a new shareholder is recorded
Shareholder removed: a shareholder is no longer recorded
Shareholder ownership changes: ownership or voting percentage changes at or above your threshold, for example a 12% change
Shareholder details changed: a shareholder's name or other recorded details change
Control type changes: alerts when the company's control or ownership type changes, for example from privately owned to state owned
Parent or ultimate owner changes: parent or ultimate owner name or location changes. You can filter this by country or postcode
Group position changes: the company moves within its corporate group, or joins or leaves one
Legal events
Court filings, insolvency proceedings, and other legal events.
Bankruptcy / insolvency event: insolvency proceedings, administration, or bankruptcy filings
New judgment registered (High volume): court judgments registered against the company
New lien or charge filed: charges or liens registered against company assets
New suit filed: legal actions or lawsuits filed against the company
Strike-off, dissolution, or ceased trading: strike-off, dissolution, de-registration, or ceased-trading notices
Other legal events: claims, debarments, and other legal events
Credit risk
Credit rating deterioration and score declines from the credit bureau.
Credit rating deteriorates: the credit appraisal worsens or the rating is withdrawn. Improvements do not alert
Failure score declines (High volume): the likelihood the company will seek legal relief from creditors or cease operations within 12 months, falling below a threshold out of 100
Delinquency score declines (High volume): the likelihood the company will pay severely late, 90 or more days past terms, falling below a threshold out of 100
Other credit updates (High volume): other credit-report changes not covered above
Financials
Net worth and liabilities changes from the latest financials.
Net worth decreases: net worth falls by your threshold, goes into deficit, or is first seen as zero or negative
Net worth increases: net worth rises by your threshold, or is first seen as a positive value
Liabilities increase: total liabilities rise by your threshold, or are first seen as a positive value
Other financial updates (High volume): other financial-report changes not covered above
Miscellaneous
Industry codes, employee numbers, and other operational details.
Other company data (High volume): employee numbers, industry codes, website or contact details, and other operational data
When you would use this
Review these settings when setting up monitoring for business clients for the first time, or when your firm’s risk-based approach changes. Choosing which screening categories and adverse media risk types to include, turning company monitoring alerts on or off, adjusting the priority, and setting thresholds where available lets you focus on the results and company updates most relevant to your firm and reduce what you do not need to review.
Key things to be aware of
Both settings panels apply as a firm-wide default and affect all users
Turning a screening category or a monitoring alert off means results or updates in that area will not be returned. Consider whether any team relies on them before changing them
Changes apply to future results and alerts only; results and alerts already received are not affected
Some company monitoring alerts use additional filters or thresholds, such as an ownership or net worth change percentage, a credit score cut-off, or a country or postcode filter, so review these alongside the on/off toggle
Priority (High, Med or Low) applies to company monitoring alerts only. Business screening categories don't have a priority
Important information
Business screening settings create the default screening profile used when a business is added to monitoring. Company monitoring settings control which Dun and Bradstreet (DnB) company updates create alerts. The two are configured separately
Changes apply to future screening results and company updates, not to results or alerts already received
Categories or alerts marked “High volume” typically generate a large number of results, so consider this before enabling them
Only Admin users can view and change these settings