The financial markets are still sorting through the lengthy list of compliance measures created by the Sarbanes‐Oxley legislation and other reforms being proposed by the SEC, NASDAQ, state attorneys general, institutional investors, and others. This preoccupation should not derail corporate efforts to comply with the mandates of the USA Patriot Act, an especially important measure that is applicable to companies defined as “financial institutions” by the Act. The Act has several purposes: to better detect and deter incidents of money laundering; prevent financing of terrorist activity; and more severely penalize those who launder money by strengthening, broadening, and clarifying federal money‐laundering laws.