Strategic Internal Auditing (Levels 1 and 2)

Delegates who have some auditing experience or professionals from within the financial services sector seeking to develop an advanced strategic auditing toolkit and refine their best practice approach to the enhancement of the internal audit function in private and public sector organisations.

• Focus on critical enterprise risks and emerging risks from the audit function side
• Contribute effectively to addressing ongoing organisational business management risks on an outlier basis
• Link risk reporting to the organisation’s business objectives
• Effectively use risk reporting in order to advance dialogues around risk appetite
• Integrate risk reporting with performance reporting
• Assess and report on whether changes in the external environment affect the critical assumptions underlying the organisation’s strategy

The Role and Function of Internal Audit

• Key goals of the internal audit function
• Ensuring auditor objectivity
• Avoidance of conflicts of interest within auditing
• Auditor skillset

Conducting Effective Audits

• Identifying areas of risk
• Classifying and quantifying risk areas
• Developing audit and re-audit frequency in line with risk
• Overview of emerging threats

Audit Structures

• The audit committee’s role
• Developing the audit charter
• The external auditor’s role
• Developing and improving best practices

Financial Crime Risks

• Money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions risks
• AML controls
• CTF controls
• Sanctions controls – matches
• Trade-based money laundering risks
• Customer due diligence controls
• Enhanced customer due diligence controls
• Consideration of money laundering risks in practice evidenced by the organisation
• Beneficial Ownership Transparency – individuals and entities
• Testing operational efficiency v. financial crime risk prevention in practice
• Training and awareness programmes

Audit Report Writing

• Ensuring objective comments
• Ensuring use of constructive language
• Financial crime compliance terms and abbreviations for internal auditors
• Improvement recommendations
• Continuous improvement techniques

Risk – Based Auditing

• Identifying areas of risk
• Identifying new areas of risk
• Classification and quantification of risk areas
• Identifying potential interface of existing and new areas of risk
• Developing audit and re – audit frequency in alignment with risk
• Overview of emerging and evolving threats

Audit reports – Working with Stakeholders

• Effective post audit de-briefing
• Root cause analysis and remediation recommendations
• Developing departmental action plans with stakeholders: contributing to the delivery of compliance 2.0
• Managing conflict situations

Financial Crime Compliance

• Record keeping procedures
• Controls to identify potentially suspicious activities
• Trade finance transactions
• Trade processing controls by processing staff
• Red flagging procedures
• Pre-determined thresholds systems and controls
• Escalations
• Actions taken by senior management
• Evidence and awareness of senior management evidencing how crime risks evolve in organisational type of business

Engaging with the Audit Structure

• Making effective recommendations and business cases
• Presenting information effectively
• OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) for internal auditors
• Contributing meaningfully to the development of the long – term audit strategy
• Upgrading the profile of internal audit within the organisation