Fraud Detection Through Internal Audit Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Internal Auditors, Senior Internal Auditors 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-FFC-021

Before you join: Participants should understand internal audit concepts, including audit planning, control testing, evidence collection and audit reporting.

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 losses often arise where routine controls are bypassed, management override is tolerated, data anomalies go unexplained, or concerns are not escalated promptly. Internal auditors need to identify fraud exposures without assuming an investigative mandate for every audit. They must distinguish fraud indicators from proof, assess whether controls address realistic schemes, preserve evidence appropriately, and report issues in a way that supports management, audit committees, legal counsel and regulators.

This course develops a structured approach to fraud detection and prevention through internal audit. Participants assess fraud risks using the COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide, map schemes with the ACFE Fraud Tree, plan fraud-aware audit engagements, test vulnerable controls, and analyse transactional data for red flags. The course addresses procurement fraud, payroll irregularities, expense abuse, journal-entry manipulation, related-party concerns, vendor fraud and management override. Participants also examine allegation triage, investigation boundaries, evidence handling, interviewing methods, root-cause analysis and remediation follow-up.

Five instructor-led days combine short technical briefings with sector-based cases, audit-file reviews, group analysis, data-testing simulations and application planning. Delivery is available in classrooms in more than 50 cities or live online. Each participant receives a certificate of completion and leaves with a reusable fraud risk assessment register, fraud-aware audit programme, red-flag testing plan, investigation escalation checklist and personal implementation plan.

The course is suited to internal auditors and assurance professionals who already understand audit fundamentals and now need a more disciplined method for detecting, assessing and reporting fraud risk within audit work.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess fraud risks using the COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide and ACFE Fraud Tree
  • Design fraud-aware audit programmes for high-risk processes and transaction populations
  • Test preventive and detective controls against realistic fraud schemes
  • Apply red-flag analytics to identify unusual payments, journals and vendor activity
  • Analyse transaction data using trend analysis, Benford's Law and duplicate-payment tests
  • Plan allegation triage and evidence preservation within internal audit authority
  • Conduct fact-finding interviews using the PEACE interviewing model
  • Produce evidence-based fraud findings, remediation plans and audit committee reports

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Recognise fraud red flags without treating suspicion as evidence
  • Build fraud considerations into routine audit planning and testing
  • Use repeatable analytics for payments, journals and vendor records
  • Handle allegations and evidence with clearer professional boundaries
  • Write fraud findings that support timely management action

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of control weaknesses enabling fraud schemes
  • More targeted audit coverage for high-risk processes and transactions
  • Better documented escalation of allegations and suspicious activity
  • Stronger remediation tracking after fraud incidents or near misses
  • Clearer reporting to audit committees on fraud exposure and responses

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define internal audit's fraud-related responsibilities, boundaries and assurance priorities.

  • Fraud risk drivers mapped through pressure, opportunity, rationalisation and capability
  • ACFE Fraud Tree categories linked to auditable business processes
  • Distinguishing fraud, error, misconduct and control failure using defined criteria
  • Internal audit's assurance role under the IIA Three Lines Model
  • Global Internal Audit Standards requirements for fraud-related engagements
  • Management ownership and auditor independence boundaries documented before fieldwork

Participants can assess, score and prioritise fraud risks for audit coverage.

  • Fraud risk assessment methodology aligned with COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide
  • Process-level fraud scenarios drafted using assets, schemes, perpetrators and concealment
  • Likelihood and impact scoring calibrated with financial and nonfinancial criteria
  • Inherent and residual risk ratings tested against existing control design
  • Heat maps prioritise schemes requiring audit coverage and specialist support
  • Fraud risk registers assign owners, responses, indicators and review dates

Participants can plan audit engagements that address relevant fraud schemes and evidence needs.

  • Risk-based audit universe links fraud exposures to assurance priorities
  • Engagement objectives define allegations, schemes, controls and evidence requirements
  • Scope boundaries separate preventive control reviews from investigative assignments
  • Fraud-aware audit programmes specify procedures, populations, samples and exceptions
  • Materiality, sampling and professional judgement applied to suspected irregularities
  • Planning memoranda record conflicts, confidentiality restrictions and escalation routes

Participants can test control design and operating effectiveness against common fraud scenarios.

  • Walkthroughs trace vulnerable transactions from initiation through approval, posting and payment
  • Control design assessed using COSO principles and fraud-scheme failure modes
  • Segregation-of-duties matrices expose incompatible access, approval and reconciliation combinations
  • Test operating effectiveness through reperformance, inspection, observation and inquiry
  • Journal-entry controls scrutinised for override, unusual timing and unsupported narratives
  • Procure-to-pay and payroll controls tested against common fraud scenarios

Participants can identify red flags and distinguish explainable exceptions from significant anomalies.

  • Red-flag libraries connect behavioural, transactional and control indicators to schemes
  • Trend analysis identifies unusual movements, spikes, gaps and round-number patterns
  • Benford's Law screens suitable datasets for digit-distribution anomalies
  • Duplicate-payment tests match supplier, invoice, amount, date and bank fields
  • Related-party indicators reveal undisclosed ownership, conflicts and connected transactions
  • Exception thresholds distinguish explainable outliers from investigation-worthy anomalies

Participants can specify, test and document data analytics for fraud-related audit work.

  • Audit data requests define source systems, fields, periods and extraction controls
  • Data profiling tests completeness, validity, uniqueness, timeliness and referential integrity
  • SQL joins reconcile vendor masters, invoices, purchase orders and payments
  • Continuous auditing rules flag split purchases, weekend postings and dormant vendors
  • Visualisation dashboards communicate anomaly patterns without overstating causal conclusions
  • Analytics results retain reproducible queries, parameters and audit trails

Participants can assess allegations and preserve evidence while maintaining appropriate audit boundaries.

  • Allegation triage assesses credibility, urgency, materiality, safety and jurisdiction
  • Investigation plans define hypotheses, evidence sources, responsibilities and reporting lines
  • Chain-of-custody logs preserve admissibility and integrity of physical evidence
  • Digital evidence preservation follows legal holds, access controls and metadata capture
  • Interview sequencing separates witnesses, subjects and corroborating documentary evidence
  • Privilege, confidentiality and whistleblower protections handled with legal counsel

Participants can conduct structured fact-finding interviews and escalate concerns appropriately.

  • PEACE interviewing model structures preparation, rapport, account, closure and evaluation
  • Open questions obtain narrative accounts before targeted challenge questions
  • Document confrontation tests explanations against dated, sourced evidence
  • Interview notes distinguish observations, verbatim statements, inferences and conclusions
  • Deception indicators treated as prompts for corroboration, not proof
  • Escalation protocols address retaliation risks, senior involvement and regulatory notifications

Participants can report fraud-related findings fairly and establish measurable remediation actions.

  • Findings link condition, criteria, cause, consequence and recommended action
  • Fraud reports separate substantiated facts, allegations, assumptions and unresolved matters
  • Root cause analysis uses five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Control remediation plans assign actions, owners, deadlines and validation tests
  • Report language preserves fairness, confidentiality and need-to-know distribution
  • Audit committees receive concise themes, exposure estimates and overdue actions

Participants can establish ongoing fraud monitoring and apply course methods to their audit portfolio.

  • Case prioritisation balances loss exposure, recurrence risk and control breakdown
  • Fraud risk indicators form a monitoring dashboard with accountable owners
  • Follow-up testing verifies remediation design, implementation and sustained operation
  • Quality assurance reviews confirm evidence sufficiency and standards conformance
  • Annual audit plans refresh fraud coverage after incidents and changes
  • Personal application plans schedule stakeholder discussions, audits and analytics pilots

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

What you take back to work

  1. Fraud risk assessment register
  2. Fraud-aware audit programme template
  3. Red-flag analytics testing plan
  4. Allegation triage and escalation checklist
  5. Evidence preservation and chain-of-custody log
  6. Fraud remediation follow-up tracker

Who should attend

  • Internal Auditors — need methods to identify fraud indicators during assurance engagements
  • Senior Internal Auditors — need stronger fraud-risk coverage in audit planning and fieldwork
  • Internal Audit Managers — need consistent fraud-aware programmes and escalation protocols
  • Compliance Officers — need coordinated responses to misconduct, whistleblowing and control failures
  • Risk Managers — need fraud risk assessments linked to controls and assurance priorities
  • Finance Controllers — need practical tests for payment, journal-entry and payroll irregularities

Skills and tools covered

Fraud risk assessmentFraud-aware auditingControl effectiveness testingAudit data analyticsEvidence handlingFraud reporting

Tools and standards

Global Internal Audit Standards, COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide, ACFE Fraud Tree, PEACE interviewing model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce standards, fraud schemes and audit techniques, followed by guided case work from procurement, payroll, expense, banking and financial reporting settings. Participants review audit evidence, assess control design, interpret transaction anomalies and decide appropriate escalation actions. Group exercises apply fraud risk assessment, audit-programme design, root-cause analysis and reporting methods. Simulations cover allegation triage, evidence preservation and investigative interviewing. Each participant develops an application plan for priority audits, analytics tests and stakeholder discussions after the course.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand internal audit concepts, including audit planning, control testing, evidence collection and audit reporting. Experience in finance, compliance, risk, accounting, procurement or operational assurance is useful. Participants should be comfortable reading transaction reports and discussing controls in processes such as procure-to-pay, payroll or financial close. Prior fraud investigation experience, forensic accounting qualifications, SQL knowledge, legal training or advanced statistical skills are not required. The course explains analytical methods at a level suitable for auditors who use spreadsheets and standard audit documentation.

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 internal audit, controls and audit evidence. Prior fraud investigation, forensic accounting, SQL or legal experience is not required.

Participants should bring a laptop if attending live online and are encouraged to bring non-confidential examples of fraud risks or difficult audit areas. Course materials, templates and case data are provided.

The course is designed primarily for internal auditors, audit managers, compliance officers, risk managers and finance control professionals. It is most useful for professionals who already perform assurance or control review work.

This course focuses on detecting fraud risk through internal audit planning, control testing, analytics and reporting. It addresses investigation boundaries and evidence handling, but does not train participants to act as forensic investigators or legal advisers.

Participants can use the fraud risk register, audit programme and red-flag testing plan in upcoming engagements. The final module helps participants identify priority processes, stakeholders and monitoring actions for their own audit portfolio.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Time is divided across ten modules covering fraud risk assessment, audit planning, controls, analytics, evidence, interviews, reporting and follow-up.

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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