Central Bank Internal Controls and Audit Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Internal Auditors, Audit Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-A-119

Before you join: Participants should have working knowledge of internal controls, financial processes or audit activity gained through a central bank, commercial bank, regulator, public financial institution or large finance function.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Central banks operate processes where control failure can affect monetary policy credibility, foreign reserve safety, payment-system stability, currency integrity and public trust. Internal audit functions must assess these risks while preserving independence, working with sensitive information and reporting clearly to governors, audit committees and senior management. Generic corporate audit methods are not enough when audit work covers market operations, government banking, currency issuance, supervisory functions and critical financial infrastructure.

This course develops the internal control and audit practices required in a central bank setting. Participants examine governance structures, the Three Lines Model, COSO control components, risk and control self-assessments, audit universe design and risk-based engagement planning. They learn how to assess controls over reserves, payment systems, cash operations, treasury activity, financial reporting, IT systems and outsourced services. The course also covers audit evidence, sampling, working papers, issue ratings, root-cause analysis, remediation follow-up and quality assurance requirements under the Global Internal Audit Standards.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with central-bank cases, group analysis, control testing simulations and structured audit-planning work. Participants apply tools to realistic scenarios such as a foreign reserve settlement exception, access-control weaknesses in a payment platform and overdue management actions following a currency operations audit. They leave with a reusable central bank audit toolkit, including a risk and control matrix, audit programme, findings template, issue tracker and 90-day application plan.

The course is designed for internal auditors, risk specialists, control owners, compliance staff and finance professionals who need to assess or strengthen assurance arrangements within a central bank or similar public financial institution.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess central bank control environments using COSO components and the Three Lines Model
  • Construct risk and control matrices for reserve management, payment systems and currency operations
  • Perform risk and control self-assessments using inherent and residual risk scoring
  • Develop risk-based audit plans from an audit universe, risk ratings and available resources
  • Test control design and operating effectiveness using walkthroughs, sampling and reperformance
  • Document audit evidence and working papers in line with Global Internal Audit Standards
  • Write audit findings using condition, criteria, cause, consequence and recommendation
  • Build remediation follow-up trackers with owners, due dates and closure evidence

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Apply central bank-specific control criteria to sensitive operational and financial processes
  • Produce clearer audit programmes, working papers and evidence-based findings
  • Assess reserve, payment-system and currency-operation risks with greater confidence
  • Improve credibility when presenting issues to senior management and audit committees
  • Create a practical plan for strengthening personal audit and control responsibilities

For your organisation

  • More consistent audit coverage of material central bank risks and critical processes
  • Earlier identification of control weaknesses affecting reserves, payments and currency operations
  • Better documented audit evidence, issue ratings and management action follow-up
  • Stronger coordination among internal audit, risk, compliance and external assurance providers
  • Improved reporting to audit committees on unresolved risks and remediation progress

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define control and assurance responsibilities within a central bank governance structure.

  • Central bank mandates, autonomy and accountability lines shaping control responsibilities
  • Three Lines Model roles for management, risk, compliance and internal audit
  • Audit committee charters, reporting rights and escalation protocols
  • Independence safeguards for internal audit under the IIA Standards
  • Delegations of authority mapped to financial and operational decisions
  • Control ownership distinguished from assurance, oversight and advisory responsibilities

Participants can assess control design and prioritise risks using recognised frameworks and rating methods.

  • COSO components applied to governance, operations, reporting and compliance objectives
  • Risk universe structured around policy, financial, operational and technology risks
  • Risk and control self-assessment methodology, scoring scales and facilitation
  • Inherent and residual risk ratings calibrated through likelihood-impact criteria
  • Control design assessments using preventive, detective and corrective classifications
  • Risk appetite statements connected to audit priorities and tolerance breaches

Participants can identify key risks and controls across core central bank operating processes.

  • Monetary policy decision controls, confidential information handling and delegated approvals
  • Foreign reserve dealing controls: mandates, limits, confirmations and reconciliations
  • Currency issuance safeguards from print orders through vault custody
  • Payment-system oversight controls for settlement finality, collateral and participant risk
  • Government banking controls over account mandates, payments and reconciliations
  • Segregation-of-duties analysis for treasury, accounting and market operations

Participants can evaluate technology controls supporting critical central bank systems and data.

  • IT general controls over access, change management, backups and operations
  • Privileged-access reviews for core banking, reserves and payment-system applications
  • Cyber-risk control testing using incident response and recovery evidence
  • Data analytics tests for duplicate payments, unusual journals and override patterns
  • Outsourced service controls assessed through contracts, service levels and assurance reports
  • Business continuity controls for critical payment and market infrastructure

Participants can prepare risk-based audit plans and engagement programmes for central bank functions.

  • Risk-based audit universe and annual plan aligned with strategic risks
  • Engagement objectives framed through risks, controls, criteria and audit questions
  • Materiality and sampling decisions documented for financial and operational audits
  • Audit programmes linking procedures, expected evidence and control assertions
  • Resource budgets, specialist needs and engagement milestones planned realistically
  • Opening meetings establish scope, information requests and communication protocols

Participants can conduct and document control testing that supports defensible audit conclusions.

  • Walkthroughs trace transactions from initiation through authorization, recording and reporting
  • Test-of-design procedures assess whether stated controls address identified risks
  • Operating-effectiveness tests use inspection, observation, reperformance and inquiry
  • Statistical and judgemental sampling selected against population characteristics and risk
  • Working papers meet IIA documentation requirements, review trails and retention rules
  • Evidence reliability assessed by source independence, timeliness, relevance and sufficiency

Participants can communicate material control issues and practical recommendations to decision-makers.

  • Findings structured with condition, criteria, cause, consequence and recommendation
  • Root-cause analysis uses five whys, fishbone diagrams and control failure patterns
  • Ratings distinguish control deficiencies, significant issues and unacceptable residual risk
  • Recommendations specify accountable owners, deadlines, milestones and closure evidence
  • Exit meetings test factual accuracy without diluting audit conclusions
  • Audit reports communicate systemic themes to governors, committees and management

Participants can strengthen audit quality, ethical conduct and coordination with assurance providers.

  • Quality assurance and improvement programme requirements under Global Internal Audit Standards
  • Internal assessments review conformance, engagement quality and stakeholder feedback
  • External quality assessments planned against five-year IIA expectations
  • Coordination protocols with external auditors, supervisors and national audit institutions
  • Combined assurance maps eliminate duplicated testing and unresolved risk gaps
  • Confidentiality, objectivity and conflict-of-interest safeguards govern sensitive assignments

Participants can monitor remediation progress and report unresolved control risks accurately.

  • Control remediation trackers prioritise actions by risk, owner and due date
  • Follow-up testing verifies implemented actions and residual-risk acceptance decisions
  • Key risk indicators signal control deterioration before material failures occur
  • Audit dashboards report plan delivery, issue ageing and thematic trends
  • Management representations and issue validation support defensible closure decisions
  • Escalation thresholds identify overdue actions requiring committee or governor attention

Participants can prepare a focused plan for applying course methods within their audit responsibilities.

  • Priority process selection based on current risks, audit findings and control changes
  • Personal audit improvements matched to mandate, authority and available resources
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies sponsors, control owners and assurance dependencies
  • Ninety-day application plans assign audit improvements, sponsors and measurable milestones
  • Success measures track audit quality, issue closure and control reliability
  • Peer review commitments support consistent implementation after course completion

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Central bank risk and control matrix
  2. Risk-based audit planning template
  3. Control testing and evidence checklist
  4. Audit finding and recommendation template
  5. Management action follow-up tracker
  6. Ninety-day audit improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Internal Auditors — need sector-specific methods for auditing central bank functions
  • Audit Managers — oversee risk-based plans, engagement quality and committee reporting
  • Risk Managers — maintain control assessments and coordinate assurance activities
  • Compliance Officers — assess governance, conduct and regulatory control arrangements
  • Finance and Accounting Managers — strengthen controls over financial reporting and reconciliations
  • Operations Managers — own controls for reserves, currency, payments or government banking

Skills and tools covered

Central bank controlsRisk-based auditingControl testingAudit reportingIssue remediationAssurance coordination

Tools and standards

COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework, Three Lines Model, Global Internal Audit Standards, Risk and Control Self-Assessment

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce standards, control models and audit techniques, followed by central-bank cases and facilitated group analysis. Participants review process narratives, identify risks, assess control design, plan audit procedures and evaluate evidence from realistic records. Simulations focus on reserve settlement, payment-system access, currency custody and remediation follow-up. Structured application planning helps participants adapt the methods, templates and reporting approaches to their own audit mandate and control environment.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have working knowledge of internal controls, financial processes or audit activity gained through a central bank, commercial bank, regulator, public financial institution or large finance function. Familiarity with basic risk concepts, reconciliations, approvals, segregation of duties and audit reporting will help participants contribute fully. Prior internal audit experience is useful but not essential for control owners and risk professionals. The course does not require accounting qualifications, prior use of audit software, statistical expertise or technical programming skills.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic controls, financial processes or audit activity. Previous internal audit experience is helpful, but control owners, risk managers and compliance staff can participate without an audit qualification.

Bring a laptop if possible, plus any non-confidential examples of audit plans, risk registers, control matrices or recurring control issues from your institution. Course materials and templates are provided.

It is designed for central bank internal auditors, audit managers, risk and compliance professionals, finance managers and operational control owners. It also suits staff moving into audit or assurance roles within public financial institutions.

The course applies audit methods to central bank mandates and processes, including reserve management, currency issuance, monetary policy confidentiality, payment systems and government banking. It addresses governance and assurance arrangements common in public financial institutions.

Participants can use the risk and control matrix, audit programme, findings format and action tracker on current or planned reviews. The final application plan identifies specific improvements to implement during the following 90 days.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided among instructor input, case analysis, group work, simulations, discussion and application planning across ten modules.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

More courses in Auditing

Auditing Artificial Intelligence in Internal Audit Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Auditing Audit Analytics with Power BI Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Auditing Audit Report Writing and Compliance Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov Auditing Audit Sampling Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Auditing Certificate Course in Internal Auditing 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Auditing Data Analytics for Internal Auditors Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Auditing Donor-Funded Project Auditing Training Course 10 days · from USD 2,200 · next 16 Nov Auditing Excel for Auditing and Fraud Examination Training Course 5 days · from USD 1,100 · next 16 Nov