2015 was a busy year for the ACAMS Central Florida Chapter. The chapter sponsored several learning events in 2015 where attendees earned two ACAMS continuing education credits. Topics included identity theft, money services businesses and anti-money laundering (AML) challenges, counter threat finance and cybersecurity. The cybersecurity event was held at the University of South Florida in partnership with the university’s certificate program in compliance, risk and AML. In addition, the chapter tapped into another local resource, the U.S. Central Command, which is located in Tampa, to provide counter threat finance training.

Central Florida Chapter members are drawn from areas spanning from Sarasota on the central west coast of Florida to Jacksonville in the northeast corner of the state. Given the large geographic size of the chapter, learning events are held in two cities: Orlando and Tampa.

Since 2014, chapter membership has increased by 200 percent, with over 90 current members. Two-thirds of the chapter members are CAMS certified. Central Florida is home to several large AML back-office operations, which is reflected in our membership. Chapter members also work at state-chartered banks, government agencies and foreign exchange merchants.

The Central Florida Chapter has several learning events planned for 2016 and strives to further increase their membership.