Revenue Administration Auditing and Investigations Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Revenue auditors, Tax compliance officers 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-PFM-018

Before you join: Participants should have practical exposure to revenue administration, tax or customs compliance, internal audit, public-sector finance, or financial record review.

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

Revenue administration audits and investigations must do more than identify underpayments. Officers need defensible case selection, lawful evidence, sound testing and reports that withstand internal review, taxpayer challenge or court referral. Weak files can produce overturned assessments, lost revenue, inconsistent treatment and reputational damage. The work is complicated by fragmented registration data, cash transactions, refund fraud, related-party dealings, customs declarations and pressure to close cases quickly without compromising taxpayer rights.

This course develops the practical methods used to plan, conduct and document revenue audits and investigations. Participants apply risk-based case selection, materiality, sampling, evidence matrices, interview planning, financial-flow analysis and working-paper standards. The syllabus covers direct and indirect taxes, customs post-clearance reviews, non-tax revenues, refunds, arrears and suspected fraud. It also addresses procedural fairness, confidentiality, administrative penalties, criminal referrals, quality assurance and supervisory review.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with public-sector case work, group analysis of audit files, evidence and interview simulations, and reporting practice. Participants work with realistic scenarios involving undeclared income, false input tax credits, undervaluation, suspicious refunds and staff misconduct. They leave with a reusable audit and investigation case-file toolkit containing planning, evidence, reporting and quality-control materials that can be adapted to their authority's legal framework and operating procedures.

The course is suited to revenue authority staff, customs officials, internal auditors and public financial management professionals who already work with revenue controls, compliance cases or financial records.

What you will be able to do

  • Develop risk-based audit plans using materiality, compliance risk and case-selection criteria
  • Construct evidence matrices and chain-of-custody records for audit and investigation files
  • Apply sampling, walkthrough and control-testing methods to revenue processes
  • Analyse tax, customs and payment data for underreporting, fraud and control exceptions
  • Conduct structured interviews using the PEACE interview model and documented questioning plans
  • Prepare defensible working papers, assessment notices and investigation reports
  • Evaluate procedural fairness, taxpayer rights and referral thresholds in enforcement cases
  • Create a 90-day revenue audit and investigation improvement plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Stronger ability to select defensible audit and investigation cases
  • Practical methods for tracing discrepancies through records and financial flows
  • Greater confidence conducting structured taxpayer and witness interviews
  • Improved report writing for assessments, referrals and management decisions
  • A reusable toolkit for organising evidence and quality-checking case files

For your organisation

  • More consistent risk-based selection of high-value revenue cases
  • Better documented assessments and investigations with fewer review weaknesses
  • Earlier detection of refund fraud, underreporting and control failures
  • Clearer referral decisions between civil, criminal and disciplinary processes
  • Stronger audit quality, taxpayer fairness and management oversight

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define audit authority, assess revenue risks and establish a risk-based audit universe.

  • Revenue mandate, taxpayer rights and delegation limits governing audit authority
  • Three-lines model responsibilities for operational management, assurance and internal audit
  • ISO 31000 risk criteria applied to compliance and fraud threats
  • Risk registers linking inherent risk, controls, residual exposure and owners
  • Segregation-of-duties weaknesses in registration, assessment, payment and refund processes
  • Audit universe construction across domestic tax, customs, fees and arrears

Participants can prepare a documented audit plan using risk, materiality, sampling and resource criteria.

  • Annual audit plan prioritised through risk scoring, materiality and coverage
  • Risk-based case selection using compliance history, third-party data and anomalies
  • Materiality thresholds calibrated for revenue loss, deterrence and public interest
  • Audit objectives, scope, criteria and period documented in engagement memoranda
  • Sampling plans using random, systematic, stratified and judgemental selection methods
  • Resource budgets, milestones and supervision recorded within case workplans

Participants can obtain, preserve and evaluate evidence for a defensible revenue case file.

  • Evidence matrix linking allegations, elements, sources, tests and conclusions
  • Chain-of-custody records preserving admissibility of physical and digital evidence
  • Document requests drafted with statutory authority, deadlines and preservation requirements
  • Interview plans separating witness, taxpayer, suspect and expert evidence
  • Digital evidence acquisition using forensic images, hashes and access logs
  • Corroboration tests reconciling declarations, invoices, bank records and third-party data

Participants can test revenue-process controls and identify exceptions requiring corrective action or investigation.

  • Walkthroughs map revenue processes from registration through assessment, collection and refunds
  • Control design tests assess authorisation, completeness, accuracy and system access
  • Operating-effectiveness testing uses re-performance, observation, inspection and inquiry
  • Exception logs distinguish isolated errors, control failures and suspected misconduct
  • Data analytics identify duplicate payments, unusual refunds and missing declarations
  • Root-cause analysis applies five whys and fishbone diagrams to findings

Participants can apply examination techniques to common tax, customs and non-tax revenue risks.

  • Indirect tax audits reconcile sales, purchases, input credits and returns
  • Direct tax examinations test income, deductions, related parties and losses
  • Customs post-clearance audits compare declarations, valuation, origin and classification
  • Bank-deposit analysis reconstructs undeclared income from credits, transfers and cash
  • Net-worth and expenditure methods test lifestyle against declared taxable income
  • Transfer pricing risk indicators identify profit shifting and related-party anomalies

Participants can assess fraud allegations, trace financial flows and plan proportionate investigative actions.

  • Fraud triangle analysis distinguishes pressure, opportunity and rationalisation indicators
  • Allegation assessments establish predication, jurisdiction, urgency and investigative hypotheses
  • Financial-flow analysis traces funds through accounts, entities and beneficial owners
  • FATF red flags identify laundering, trade-based fraud and nominee arrangements
  • Investigation interviews use PEACE planning, rapport, account and closure stages
  • Search, seizure and disclosure actions follow legal authority and proportionality

Participants can manage cases fairly, protect confidential information and determine appropriate enforcement referrals.

  • Procedural fairness protects notice, representation, hearing and reasoned decisions
  • Taxpayer rights frameworks guide respectful communication and confidential information handling
  • Case-management protocols control intake, allocation, deadlines, reviews and closure
  • Disclosure schedules organise exculpatory, inculpatory and privileged material appropriately
  • Administrative penalties distinguish negligent error, gross negligence and deliberate evasion
  • Referral criteria separate civil assessment, criminal investigation and disciplinary action

Participants can prepare clear working papers and reports that support revenue decisions and legal review.

  • Working papers document procedures, evidence, exceptions, judgements and review notes
  • Finding statements connect condition, criterion, cause, effect and recommendation
  • Revenue-loss calculations quantify principal tax, interest, penalties and recoverability
  • Assessment notices state facts, legal basis, adjustments and appeal rights
  • Investigation reports distinguish verified facts, inferences, allegations and unresolved matters
  • Oral briefings communicate case risk, decision options and required approvals

Participants can quality-review revenue case files and monitor ethical, operational and compliance performance.

  • Quality reviews test evidence sufficiency, consistency, legality and report clarity
  • Supervisory sign-offs document challenge, consultation, approval and escalation decisions
  • COSO control principles assess monitoring, information flows and accountability gaps
  • Conflict-of-interest declarations protect impartiality in case allocation and decision making
  • Confidentiality protocols govern taxpayer data, informants, records retention and access
  • Performance metrics track yield, timeliness, overturn rates and compliance outcomes

Participants can prepare a practical improvement plan for their revenue audit or investigation function.

  • Case prioritisation matrices balance revenue impact, deterrence, complexity and capacity
  • Ninety-day action plans assign owners, milestones, dependencies, resources and measures
  • Standard operating procedures define handoffs between audit, investigations and legal teams
  • Escalation maps specify decision rights for sanctions, settlements and prosecutions
  • Management dashboards combine case inventory, ageing, yield and quality indicators
  • Post-case reviews capture lessons, control improvements and repeat-risk signals

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

What you take back to work

  1. Risk-based audit planning template
  2. Revenue audit evidence matrix
  3. Chain-of-custody record template
  4. PEACE interview planning guide
  5. Revenue investigation report structure
  6. Ninety-day improvement action plan

Who should attend

  • Revenue auditors — need consistent methods for planning, testing and documenting assessments
  • Tax compliance officers — need stronger case selection and examination techniques
  • Customs audit officers — need post-clearance audit methods for valuation, origin and classification
  • Revenue investigation officers — need lawful evidence, interview and financial-flow methods
  • Internal auditors — need to assess controls within registration, collection and refund processes
  • Revenue audit managers — need quality-review standards and case performance measures

Skills and tools covered

Risk-based audit planningEvidence managementRevenue fraud analysisForensic interviewingCase-file reportingQuality assurance

Tools and standards

ISO 31000 Risk Management, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework, FATF Recommendations, PEACE investigative interviewing model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by public-sector case analysis, facilitated group work, simulations and application planning. Participants examine revenue risks, plan audit cases, test controls, review financial records, assess evidence and draft findings. Simulations cover taxpayer or witness interviews, supervisory file review and decisions on civil, criminal or disciplinary referral. Trainers use examples from tax, customs, fees, refunds and arrears administration while allowing participants to apply their own legal mandates, forms and procedures.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to revenue administration, tax or customs compliance, internal audit, public-sector finance, or financial record review. They should be able to read basic financial statements, invoices, bank records and administrative case documents. Familiarity with their own authority's revenue laws, taxpayer rights and operating procedures is useful. The course does not require an accounting qualification, prior forensic investigation training, legal practice experience or advanced data analytics skills. It focuses on transferable methods that participants adapt to their jurisdiction and delegated authority.

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 revenue administration, financial records or compliance processes. Experience in tax, customs, internal audit, collections or public-sector finance is useful, but prior forensic investigation training is not required.

Participants should bring a laptop if available, along with non-confidential examples of their audit forms, case workflows or reporting formats. They should not bring taxpayer-identifiable information, live investigation files or restricted evidence.

The course is designed for revenue auditors, compliance officers, customs audit staff, investigation officers, internal auditors and revenue audit managers. It is particularly useful for staff who review revenue records, pursue discrepancies or supervise enforcement cases.

This course concentrates on revenue administration: assessments, declarations, refunds, arrears, customs entries, taxpayer rights and enforcement referrals. General internal audit and fraud courses may address broader organisational controls without these revenue-specific methods.

Participants can use the planning, evidence, interview and reporting materials for their next audit or investigation case. The final module helps them identify procedures, controls and measures to improve within their own unit.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided among instructor briefings, case analysis, group exercises, simulations, report review and individual application planning.

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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