Risk Champion Masterclass Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Advanced Certificate on completion
Who attends Enterprise Risk Managers, Risk Champions and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-RM-048

Before you join: Participants should have at least three years of experience in risk management, finance, compliance, internal audit, controls, governance or operational management.

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

Senior risk champions are expected to turn risk policy into decisions that protect capital, earnings, service delivery and reputation. They must challenge weak assessments, distinguish accepted exposure from unmanaged exposure, and give executives and boards reporting that supports timely action. This requires more than maintaining a risk register: it requires sound judgement on risk appetite, control effectiveness, escalation, scenario analysis and management information.

This advanced masterclass develops the practical judgement and methods needed to lead risk management activity within a business unit, function or enterprise risk team. Participants apply ISO 31000 and COSO ERM concepts to risk governance, appetite statements, risk assessment, control assurance, key risk indicators, emerging risks, incident learning and board reporting. The course places particular attention on calibration: setting meaningful thresholds, testing assumptions, challenging ratings and converting risk findings into accountable actions.

Instruction combines focused briefings with cases drawn from banking, public services, infrastructure, multinational operations and regulated businesses. Participants work through risk scenarios, reporting packs, control evidence and escalation decisions, then shape an implementation plan for their own remit. They leave with reusable templates for appetite setting, risk assessment, control assurance, KRI design, risk reporting and a 30-60-90-day action plan. Delivery is instructor-led over five days, classroom-based in 50+ cities or live online. Participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course suits experienced practitioners who already work with risk, controls, finance, assurance or governance and now need to influence risk decisions at senior level.

What you will be able to do

  • Design risk appetite statements with measurable thresholds, tolerances and escalation triggers
  • Calibrate risk assessments using cause-event-impact analysis, defined scales and challenge criteria
  • Evaluate control design and operating effectiveness using walkthroughs, testing evidence and assurance maps
  • Build key risk indicators linked to appetite measures, data lineage and management actions
  • Apply scenario analysis, stress testing and Monte Carlo simulation to material exposures
  • Assess emerging risks through horizon scanning, bow-tie analysis and reverse stress testing
  • Produce board-ready risk reports that distinguish exposure, trend, action and accountability
  • Create a risk champion operating model and 30-60-90-day implementation plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater credibility when challenging risk ratings, control claims and action closure evidence
  • A disciplined approach to converting risk appetite into measurable business limits
  • Stronger board and executive reporting focused on decisions and accountabilities
  • Practical methods for addressing emerging risks before they become incidents
  • A personal implementation plan for improving risk management in the participant's remit

For your organisation

  • More consistent risk assessments and clearer distinctions between inherent and residual exposure
  • Earlier escalation through meaningful KRIs, thresholds and trend analysis
  • Better evidence of control effectiveness for management, regulators and internal audit
  • Risk reports that identify decisions required rather than repeating risk register entries
  • A network of risk champions able to support accountable risk ownership and follow-through

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define the mandate, accountabilities and governance position of an effective risk champion.

  • ISO 31000 principles translated into accountable risk management responsibilities
  • COSO ERM components mapped to strategy, performance and review cycles
  • Three-lines model clarifies governing body, management and assurance accountabilities
  • Risk taxonomy distinguishes strategic, financial, operational, conduct and emerging exposures
  • Risk champion mandate, authority, escalation rights and independence boundaries
  • Board risk committee reporting needs and management information quality tests

Participants can construct risk appetite measures that guide delegated decisions and timely escalation.

  • Risk appetite statements link objectives, capacity, tolerance and operational limits
  • Capacity, appetite, tolerance and limits separated using banking examples
  • Quantitative thresholds calibrated from capital, liquidity, earnings and service commitments
  • Qualitative appetite measures address conduct, reputation, safety and legal exposure
  • Risk acceptance authorities aligned with delegated financial and operational powers
  • Escalation triggers distinguish limit breaches, near misses and deteriorating trends

Participants can lead consistent risk assessments and challenge unsupported risk ratings.

  • Cause-event-impact statements replace vague risk descriptions and control labels
  • Facilitated risk identification uses structured interviews, workshops and document review
  • Inherent and residual ratings separated through explicit control-effectiveness assumptions
  • Likelihood-impact matrices calibrated against defined scales and decision criteria
  • Inter-rater calibration reduces scoring bias among risk owners and specialists
  • Risk registers record causes, controls, actions, owners and due dates

Participants can assess whether controls are suitably designed, operating as intended and sufficiently assured.

  • Preventive, detective and corrective controls matched to stated risk causes
  • Control design assessment tests precision, frequency, evidence and accountability
  • Operating effectiveness sampled through walkthroughs, reperformance and evidence inspection
  • Residual-risk challenge identifies overreliance on policy documents and self-assessment
  • Control rationalisation removes duplication while preserving coverage of material risks
  • Assurance maps coordinate first-line monitoring, second-line oversight and internal audit

Participants can apply quantitative and scenario-based methods to estimate material risk exposure.

  • Expected loss estimates combine probability of default, exposure and severity
  • Scenario analysis tests plausible disruptions against financial and operational objectives
  • Monte Carlo simulation distinguishes distributions, assumptions, iterations and percentiles
  • Sensitivity analysis isolates variables driving forecast variance and risk concentrations
  • Stress testing applies severe but plausible shocks to key exposures
  • Risk aggregation exposes correlation, concentration and diversification assumptions across portfolios

Participants can design KRIs that provide early warning and support accountable management action.

  • Key risk indicators linked to appetite metrics, causes and escalation thresholds
  • Leading, lagging and predictive indicators distinguished using incident and performance data
  • Thresholds set with baselines, volatility bands, seasonality and management capacity
  • Data lineage documents source systems, transformations, ownership and quality controls
  • Dashboard design separates board indicators, executive decisions and operational actions
  • Trend commentary explains movement, uncertainty, forecast implications and required decisions

Participants can identify, assess and report emerging risks before established controls are available.

  • Horizon scanning combines PESTLE, industry signals, expert judgement and trend data
  • Emerging-risk criteria distinguish novelty, velocity, uncertainty and potential materiality
  • Scenario narratives connect external drivers, transmission paths and business impacts
  • Bow-tie analysis maps threats, preventive barriers, recovery controls and consequences
  • Reverse stress testing identifies conditions that make objectives unachievable
  • Emerging-risk ownership assigns sensing, assessment, response and reporting duties

Participants can turn incidents and near misses into measurable improvements in risk response and controls.

  • Incident taxonomy separates operational loss, conduct events, control failures and near misses
  • Root-cause analysis applies five whys, fishbone diagrams and barrier failures
  • Event escalation uses severity criteria, notification clocks and decision authorities
  • Lessons-learned reviews convert incidents into control, process and policy actions
  • Continuity interfaces align risk scenarios, recovery priorities and testing requirements
  • Crisis communications distinguish factual updates, stakeholder needs and legal constraints

Participants can present risk information that prompts informed decisions and clear ownership.

  • Risk reports lead with decisions, exposures, trends, actions and accountabilities
  • Heat maps supplemented by velocity, control confidence and directional indicators
  • Materiality criteria determine which issues require executive or board escalation
  • Constructive challenge tests assumptions, evidence, ownership and closure dates
  • Risk workshop facilitation resolves scoring disagreements without suppressing dissent
  • Action tracking distinguishes accepted exposure, remediation commitments and overdue responses

Participants can establish a practical operating model and phased plan for improving risk management.

  • Annual risk cycle integrates planning, budgeting, performance review and assurance
  • Risk champion operating model defines forums, handoffs, cadence and decision rights
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies sponsors, risk owners, control owners and challengers
  • Thirty-sixty-ninety-day action plans sequence priority improvements and evidence
  • Change adoption measures track attendance, quality, timeliness and challenge behaviours
  • Peer review sharpens implementation plans, escalation routes and success measures

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

What you take back to work

  1. Risk appetite statement template
  2. Cause-event-impact risk assessment model
  3. Control design and effectiveness checklist
  4. Key risk indicator specification template
  5. Board risk report template
  6. 30-60-90-day risk champion action plan

Who should attend

  • Enterprise Risk Managers — need stronger methods for setting appetite, reporting exposure and challenging risk owners
  • Risk Champions — need authority, tools and routines to coordinate risk activity within their functions
  • Finance Directors and Controllers — need to connect financial exposures, controls and risk-based decisions
  • Compliance and Conduct Managers — need to assess non-financial risk and escalate material concerns effectively
  • Internal Audit Managers — need clearer assurance mapping and evidence for testing control effectiveness
  • Operational Resilience Leaders — need to connect incidents, continuity priorities and risk response actions

Skills and tools covered

Risk appetite designControl assuranceScenario analysisKRI developmentBoard risk reportingRisk challenge facilitation

Tools and standards

ISO 31000, COSO ERM Framework, Bow-tie analysis, Monte Carlo simulation

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods, followed by case analysis, facilitated group work, simulations and peer challenge. Participants examine risk appetite statements, risk registers, control evidence, incidents, KRI dashboards and executive reports. Scenarios require decisions on escalation, treatment options, assurance and communication. Trainers adapt cases to the cohort's sectors and risk profile. Each participant develops an application plan using course templates, with structured feedback on priorities, stakeholders and evidence of progress.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least three years of experience in risk management, finance, compliance, internal audit, controls, governance or operational management. They should already understand basic risk registers, likelihood-impact scoring, control concepts and management reporting. Experience presenting to senior managers is useful. The course assumes comfort with numerical reasoning, spreadsheets and business cases, but does not require advanced statistics, programming, actuarial qualifications or prior use of Monte Carlo software. Participants do not need to hold a formal risk certification.

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

This is an advanced course for practitioners with established exposure to risk, controls, assurance, finance, compliance or governance. Participants should already understand basic risk registers and likelihood-impact scoring.

Participants may bring anonymised examples of risk appetite statements, risk registers, KRI packs or risk reports from their organisation. This is optional, but it helps participants apply the templates and methods to current priorities.

It is designed for senior risk practitioners, business-unit risk champions, finance leaders, compliance managers, assurance professionals and resilience leaders. It is particularly useful for people expected to challenge risk owners and influence management decisions.

General courses usually focus on risk terminology, basic registers and introductory assessment methods. This masterclass concentrates on calibration, appetite thresholds, control assurance, quantitative scenarios, senior reporting and the operating role of a risk champion.

Participants leave with templates and an action plan that can be used to improve one risk process, report or governance routine. Typical first applications include revising appetite thresholds, improving KRI escalation or challenging residual-risk assessments.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. The five days cover ten modules in teaching order, with briefings, case work, simulations, discussion and application planning distributed throughout.

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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