Operational Risk Management Training Course

Participants can structure an operational risk framework with clear governance and reporting arrangements.

• ISO 31000 principles applied to operational risk governance arrangements
• COSO ERM components linked to objectives, performance and review
• Risk policy architecture covering appetite, assessment, reporting and escalation
• Delegated authorities documented through committee terms of reference
• Risk culture indicators identifying challenge, reporting and accountability behaviours
• Annual risk management cycle aligned with planning and assurance activities

Participants can map an end-to-end process and identify credible operational risk events.

• SIPOC diagrams define suppliers, inputs, process steps, outputs and customers
• Swimlane process maps expose handoffs, approvals and segregation points
• Risk identification workshops use prompts for people, process, systems and external events
• Bow-tie analysis connects causes, preventive controls, events and consequences
• Risk statements written as cause, event and impact propositions
• Inherent risk captured before considering existing controls and mitigations

Participants can classify operational risks and loss events consistently for analysis and reporting.

• Basel event-type categories classify internal fraud, execution and system failures
• Risk taxonomies separate causes, events, impacts, controls and obligations
• Loss data fields capture dates, amounts, recoveries and business lines
• Near misses recorded alongside actual losses and customer-impact events
• Conduct events classified by customer harm, employee behaviour and control failure
• Data quality rules prevent duplicate, incomplete and misclassified event records

Participants can complete an RCSA that records material risks, controls and residual exposure.

• RCSA scope defined by process boundary, objectives and material obligations
• Control inventories distinguish preventive, detective, corrective and compensating controls
• Inherent impact scales cover financial, regulatory, customer and reputational consequences
• Likelihood criteria use event frequency, exposure volume and control history
• Residual risk ratings reflect documented control design and operating evidence
• RCSA challenge sessions test assumptions, omissions and inconsistent scoring

Participants can document controls in a form suitable for ownership, testing and assurance.

• Control objectives state the risk outcome each control must prevent
• Control descriptions specify performer, frequency, evidence and escalation route
• Segregation of duties matrices identify incompatible initiation, approval and reconciliation roles
• Maker-checker controls tested against system access and override arrangements
• Evidence standards distinguish reliable records from unsupported management assertions
• Control rationalisation removes duplication while preserving critical risk coverage

Participants can plan and conduct proportionate tests of control design and operating effectiveness.

• Design effectiveness testing assesses whether controls address stated risk causes
• Operating effectiveness testing examines evidence across a defined sample period
• Sampling approaches use judgemental, random and targeted selection methods
• Test scripts document procedures, population, samples, evidence and conclusions
• Exceptions rated by severity, recurrence, customer impact and regulatory significance
• Assurance maps coordinate first-line checks, compliance monitoring and internal audit

Participants can apply consistent qualitative and semi-quantitative operational risk assessment criteria.

• Five-by-five risk matrices calibrated with explicit impact and likelihood definitions
• Risk velocity assesses how quickly an event can affect objectives
• Control dependency analysis identifies single points of failure and concentration
• Heat maps communicate relative exposure without overstating scoring precision
• Risk aggregation identifies common causes across products, processes and suppliers
• Materiality thresholds determine which issues require committee escalation

Participants can design KRIs that provide timely warning of deteriorating operational control conditions.

• KRI selection links measurable indicators to defined risk causes
• Thresholds set green, amber and red tolerances against risk appetite
• Leading indicators anticipate failures before losses, complaints or breaches occur
• Lagging indicators quantify realised incidents, errors and remediation backlogs
• Data lineage documents source systems, calculations, owners and refresh frequency
• KRI breach protocols assign investigation, action dates and escalation recipients

Participants can investigate operational incidents and convert findings into sustainable corrective action.

• Incident triage assesses urgency, customer harm, regulatory notification and containment
• Five Whys analysis separates symptoms from underlying process and control causes
• Fishbone diagrams examine people, process, technology, data and governance factors
• Chronologies establish decisions, events, communications and missed intervention points
• Corrective action plans specify owners, due dates, evidence and validation
• Lessons-learned reviews identify recurring themes and enterprise-wide implications

Participants can analyse loss-event data and communicate material patterns to decision-makers.

• Gross loss, recovery and net loss calculations support consistent reporting
• Loss-event databases reconcile finance records, incident logs and insurance recoveries
• Trend analysis compares frequency, severity and root causes over periods
• Pareto charts identify loss categories driving most financial or customer impact
• Management information combines loss data, KRIs, RCSAs and remediation status
• Narrative reporting explains exposure, actions, decisions and unresolved uncertainties

Participants can develop plausible operational risk scenarios and assess response requirements.

• Scenario workshops define severe but plausible operational disruption events
• Reverse stress testing starts with failure outcomes and traces causes
• Scenario assumptions cover volumes, duration, dependencies, controls and recoveries
• Financial impacts estimate remediation, compensation, fines and lost income
• Non-financial impacts assess customer harm, service failure and regulatory consequences
• Management actions identify contingency triggers, decision rights and communications

Participants can assess and monitor operational risks arising from suppliers, agents and outsourced services.

• Outsourcing inventories identify critical services, data access and subcontractors
• Due diligence reviews financial viability, capability, controls and regulatory status
• Contract clauses address audit rights, incident notification and service continuity
• Service level indicators monitor availability, errors, complaints and remediation
• Concentration risk assesses dependency on providers, locations and critical personnel
• Exit plans define data return, transition support and replacement arrangements

Participants can assess technology and data risks within an operational risk framework.

• Technology risk assessments cover change failure, availability, access and obsolescence
• Data classification identifies confidentiality, integrity and availability requirements
• Access recertification verifies appropriate privileges for sensitive systems and records
• Change management controls require testing, approvals, rollback and post-implementation review
• Cyber incident escalation connects security events with operational impact assessment
• End-user computing inventories address spreadsheet controls, versioning and independent review

Participants can connect operational risk methods to financial crime, conduct and customer-protection controls.

• Financial crime control failures mapped through customer onboarding and transaction processes
• Know-your-customer exceptions assessed for documentation, approvals and overdue remediation
• Sanctions screening controls tested for data quality, alerts and escalation
• Conduct risk indicators track complaints, sales incentives and vulnerable-customer outcomes
• Customer remediation governance defines scope, calculation, approval and communication controls
• Whistleblowing reports assessed for confidentiality, investigation independence and retaliation risk

Participants can relate operational risk assessments to continuity arrangements and important business services.

• Business impact analysis identifies critical activities, dependencies and recovery priorities
• Important business services defined through customer outcomes and tolerable disruption
• Recovery time objectives tested against people, premises, systems and supplier dependencies
• Crisis management structures assign incident command, communications and decision authority
• Continuity test findings converted into risk actions and control improvements
• Operational resilience assessments examine severe disruption across interconnected service chains

Participants can prepare risk evidence for compliance monitoring, inspections and regulatory engagement.

• Regulatory obligations registers link requirements to owners, controls and evidence
• Compliance monitoring plans define review scope, frequency, methods and reporting
• Inspection readiness files organise policies, records, issues and committee minutes
• Regulatory breach assessments consider notification criteria, timing and accountable executives
• Management attestations supported by documented evidence, challenge and sign-off
• Issue trackers reconcile regulatory commitments, internal findings and remediation progress

Participants can produce concise operational risk reporting that supports informed management decisions.

• Risk dashboards present residual exposure, KRIs, incidents and overdue actions
• Escalation criteria distinguish routine monitoring from material risk notifications
• Committee papers state decision requests, options, recommendations and risk consequences
• Risk narratives explain trends, drivers, uncertainties and management judgement
• Action tracking reports accountable owners, milestones, dependencies and validation evidence
• Challenge logs record dissenting views, decisions and accepted residual risk

Participants can select risk treatments and manage remediation through to verified closure.

• Risk treatment options compare avoidance, reduction, transfer and acceptance decisions
• Cost-benefit analysis weighs control investment against credible loss exposure
• Remediation plans sequence immediate containment, interim controls and permanent fixes
• Issue severity ratings drive governance, resourcing and target completion dates
• Closure validation confirms actions completed, controls embedded and risks reassessed
• Risk acceptance records document rationale, authority, duration and review triggers

Participants can build, review and present a complete operational risk assessment and management pack for a selected process.

• Select a material process with defined objectives, obligations and stakeholders
• Map process steps, handoffs, systems, data and third-party dependencies
• Build an RCSA covering risks, controls, ratings and evidence
• Design KRIs, thresholds, breach actions and reporting ownership
• Prepare incident, scenario and remediation responses for priority exposures
• Present a committee-ready risk pack and defend proposed treatment decisions