Fraud and Internal Controls Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Internal Auditors, Finance 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-RM-075

Before you join: Participants should understand core financial processes such as purchasing, payments, payroll, revenue, general ledger journals and reconciliations.

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

Fraud risk is rarely confined to one weak control. It emerges where incentives, authority, poor oversight and gaps in transaction processing meet. Finance and assurance professionals must identify plausible fraud schemes, assess the controls intended to stop or detect them, and respond appropriately when concerns arise. This requires more than checklist compliance: it requires clear ownership, evidence-based testing, disciplined escalation and practical remediation.

This course examines fraud risk management and internal control design through the COSO framework, ACFE Fraud Tree, Three Lines Model and relevant audit and anti-bribery principles. Participants learn to map fraud risks across procurement, payroll, expenses, revenue, journals and master data; distinguish preventive, detective and corrective controls; test control design and operating effectiveness; and use data-led indicators to identify suspicious activity. The course also addresses whistleblowing, investigations, evidence preservation, reporting and post-incident control improvement.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with financial-services, public-sector, NGO and corporate cases. Participants work through fraud scenarios, risk assessments, control matrices, transaction exceptions, investigation decisions and remediation priorities. They leave with a reusable fraud risk assessment pack, a control design and testing model, a fraud response plan and a 90-day implementation plan for their own control environment.

The course is suited to finance managers, internal auditors, risk professionals, compliance officers, controllers and operational leaders with responsibility for financial processes or fraud prevention. It is particularly useful for professionals who need to strengthen controls without creating unnecessary approval layers or slowing essential business activity.

What you will be able to do

  • Conduct a fraud risk assessment using fraud scenarios, likelihood, impact and control evidence
  • Apply the COSO framework to evaluate control environment, activities, information and monitoring
  • Build segregation-of-duties matrices for high-risk financial transaction processes
  • Design preventive, detective and corrective controls for procurement, payroll, expenses and revenue
  • Test control design and operating effectiveness using walkthroughs, samples and evidence inspection
  • Analyse transaction exceptions using journal-entry tests, duplicate-payment checks and risk indicators
  • Prepare an initial fraud response plan covering containment, evidence preservation and escalation
  • Develop a prioritised fraud control improvement plan with owners, milestones and assurance measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Assess suspected control weaknesses with a structured fraud risk method
  • Identify incompatible duties before they create payment or master-data exposure
  • Challenge weak control evidence during audits, reviews and management discussions
  • Recognise when transaction anomalies require investigation or routine correction
  • Produce clearer fraud control recommendations with accountable owners and deadlines

For your organisation

  • Reduced exposure to procurement, payroll, expense and financial reporting fraud
  • Better-targeted control spending based on assessed fraud scenarios and residual risk
  • Faster escalation and containment when allegations or suspicious transactions arise
  • More reliable audit evidence for control operation and remediation progress
  • Clearer accountability between management, risk, compliance and internal audit

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can classify occupational fraud schemes and identify the conditions that make them credible.

  • Fraud triangle, fraud diamond and behavioural red flags compared
  • ACFE Fraud Tree used to classify occupational fraud schemes
  • Management override, collusion and concealment mechanisms assessed systematically
  • Distinguishing error, misconduct, policy breach and suspected fraud
  • Fraud risk appetite linked to control investment decisions
  • Reporting lines, investigation boundaries and escalation thresholds defined
  • Ethical culture indicators tested against stated conduct expectations

Participants can assign clear fraud risk and control responsibilities across governance functions.

  • Board, audit committee and management responsibilities under COSO principles
  • Three Lines Model assigned to fraud risk ownership
  • Control environment assessed through authority, competence and accountability
  • Whistleblowing arrangements evaluated for confidentiality, independence and retaliation safeguards
  • Code of conduct provisions translated into control requirements
  • Conflict-of-interest declarations reviewed for approval and monitoring gaps
  • Anti-bribery controls aligned with ISO 37001 requirements

Participants can complete a documented fraud risk assessment for a financial process.

  • Fraud risk assessment scoped by process, location, channel and value
  • Process maps identify handoffs, override points and asset custody
  • Inherent risk scored using likelihood, impact, velocity and persistence
  • Control effectiveness rated through design and operating evidence
  • Residual risk heat maps prioritise treatment and assurance actions
  • Scenario analysis tests procurement, payroll and revenue fraud exposures
  • Risk registers document owners, actions, due dates and indicators

Participants can design proportionate controls that address defined fraud risks and process weaknesses.

  • COSO control activities matched to identified fraud risk scenarios
  • Preventive, detective and corrective controls distinguished by response timing
  • Segregation-of-duties matrices expose incompatible transaction permissions
  • Approval limits calibrated to transaction value, risk and authority
  • Reconciliations specify preparer, reviewer, evidence and exception resolution
  • Access controls restrict master-data changes and privileged accounts
  • Control rationalisation removes duplication while preserving fraud coverage

Participants can assess fraud controls across purchasing, payments, payroll, expenses and revenue.

  • Vendor onboarding checks validate ownership, sanctions and bank details
  • Three-way matching tests purchase orders, receipts and supplier invoices
  • Duplicate-payment analytics compare invoice numbers, amounts and banking data
  • Competitive tender controls address bid rigging and split purchasing
  • Payroll master-file reviews detect ghost employees and unauthorised amendments
  • Expense claim tests identify altered receipts and policy circumvention
  • Revenue cut-off controls address fictitious sales and premature recognition

Participants can use transaction data and system evidence to identify fraud indicators and control failures.

  • Journal-entry controls target unusual postings, overrides and late entries
  • Benford's Law applied cautiously to screening transaction populations
  • Exception reports rank anomalies by value, frequency and risk indicators
  • Continuous control monitoring defines thresholds, alerts and case ownership
  • Data quality tests reconcile source systems, extracts and record counts
  • Digital audit trails preserve user IDs, timestamps and approval history
  • Spreadsheet controls address formulas, access, versioning and review evidence

Participants can test fraud-related controls and evaluate the significance of identified deficiencies.

  • Walkthroughs trace transactions from initiation through recording and settlement
  • Control design testing assesses precision, frequency and responsible roles
  • Operating effectiveness testing selects samples and inspects retained evidence
  • Attribute sampling plans define populations, tolerable deviation and sample sizes
  • Exceptions evaluated for root cause, compensating controls and exposure
  • Control deficiencies graded by severity, likelihood and financial impact
  • Remediation trackers assign actions, owners, milestones and validation dates

Participants can respond to fraud allegations while protecting evidence, confidentiality and due process.

  • Fraud indicators triaged without contaminating potential investigation evidence
  • Case intake logs record allegations, sources, dates and immediate actions
  • Preservation notices secure emails, documents, devices and system records
  • Interview planning separates witnesses, subjects, objectives and corroboration needs
  • Investigation independence, legal privilege and confidentiality boundaries considered
  • Escalation protocols address senior management, regulators, insurers and counsel
  • Suspicion reporting distinguishes facts, assumptions, findings and recommendations

Participants can coordinate initial fraud response actions and translate findings into control improvements.

  • Fraud response plans sequence containment, evidence preservation, investigation and recovery
  • Root cause analysis uses five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Loss quantification separates direct loss, recovery costs and consequential effects
  • Disciplinary decisions follow documented policy, evidence and legal advice
  • Control redesign addresses exploited weaknesses without disrupting critical operations
  • Lessons-learned reviews update risk assessments, controls and staff communications
  • Post-incident reporting tracks remediation status and residual exposure

Participants can establish monitoring and assurance arrangements for sustained fraud control improvement.

  • Fraud control dashboards combine KRIs, incidents, exceptions and remediation status
  • Key risk indicators set thresholds, owners, data sources and cadence
  • Management attestations confirm control performance and unresolved exceptions
  • Internal audit plans align assurance coverage with fraud risk priorities
  • Control self-assessments document evidence, gaps and management actions
  • Quarterly review cycles refresh fraud scenarios and control priorities
  • Personal application plans schedule first 90-day control improvements

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

What you take back to work

  1. Fraud risk assessment template
  2. Fraud and control risk register
  3. Segregation-of-duties matrix
  4. Internal control testing workpaper
  5. Fraud response and escalation plan
  6. 90-day control improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Internal Auditors — assess fraud controls and report deficiencies with defensible evidence
  • Finance Managers — strengthen controls over payments, journals, revenue and financial reporting
  • Risk Managers — integrate fraud scenarios into enterprise and operational risk assessments
  • Compliance Officers — oversee whistleblowing, conduct standards and anti-bribery control requirements
  • Financial Controllers — improve reconciliations, approvals, access controls and exception reporting
  • Procurement and Operations Managers — reduce exposure to vendor, purchasing and payroll fraud

Skills and tools covered

Fraud risk assessmentInternal control designControl effectiveness testingTransaction anomaly analysisFraud response planningControl remediation

Tools and standards

COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework, ACFE Fraud Tree, ISO 37001 Anti-bribery Management Systems, IIA Three Lines Model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce fraud risk, internal control and assurance methods, followed by case work drawn from financial transactions and operational processes. Participants analyse fraud schemes, map risks, assess control gaps, review exception reports and determine proportionate response actions. Group exercises focus on control design, testing evidence, escalation choices and remediation priorities. A fraud response simulation tests decisions under time pressure. Each participant completes an application plan for improving a defined fraud risk or control area after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand core financial processes such as purchasing, payments, payroll, revenue, general ledger journals and reconciliations. Experience in finance, internal audit, risk, compliance, procurement or operational management is expected. Participants should be comfortable reading process maps, reviewing supporting documents and discussing control responsibilities. Prior fraud investigation experience is not required, and no specialist forensic accounting, data analytics or legal qualification is assumed. The course explains the relevant fraud risk and internal control methods before applying them to realistic cases.

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 need working familiarity with core finance or operational processes and standard business controls. Prior forensic accounting, fraud investigation or specialist data analytics experience is not required.

Bring examples of current control concerns, process maps or anonymised audit findings if organisational policy permits. Course materials are provided, and participants do not need specialist software.

It is designed for professionals responsible for finance processes, internal audit, risk, compliance, procurement or operational controls. It also suits managers who approve transactions or own remediation actions.

This course focuses on preventing, detecting and responding to fraud through risk assessment and internal controls. It covers investigation boundaries and initial response, but it does not train participants to conduct a full forensic investigation or issue an audit opinion.

Participants can use the fraud risk assessment template to review a priority process such as vendor payments, payroll or expenses. The control testing workpaper and 90-day plan provide a practical starting point for documented improvements.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided between instructor briefings, cases, group analysis, simulations and application planning across ten teaching 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

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