Risk, Internal Control and Fraud Prevention Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Finance Managers, 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 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-FFC-005

Before you join: Participants should understand basic accounting processes, financial approvals and the purpose of internal controls.

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

Financial losses, reporting errors, bribery, procurement fraud and control failures often arise where processes have unclear ownership, incompatible duties, weak evidence or poorly monitored exceptions. Managers and finance professionals need to identify the events that could prevent objectives being met, assess the exposure, design proportionate controls and respond when fraud indicators appear. They must also explain control performance clearly to senior management, internal audit and governance committees.

This course develops practical capability in risk assessment, internal control design, fraud risk management and financial-crime prevention. Participants use ISO 31000 concepts, the COSO Internal Control Framework, risk-and-control matrices, segregation-of-duties analysis, fraud risk assessments and control testing methods. The programme examines high-risk finance processes including procure-to-pay, order-to-cash, payroll, journals, treasury payments and financial close. It also addresses whistleblowing, investigations, anti-bribery measures, sanctions screening, customer due diligence and data-led fraud detection.

Teaching combines focused briefings with realistic cases, group analysis, control-design tasks, investigation scenarios and facilitated review of participants’ own process risks. Participants leave with a reusable risk-and-control matrix, fraud risk assessment structure, control testing plan and 90-day improvement plan. These materials can be adapted for a finance function, shared-service centre, government department, bank, NGO programme or commercial business unit.

The course suits professionals who already work with financial processes, risk, audit, compliance or operational controls and need a stronger working method for preventing, detecting and responding to fraud and control breakdowns.

What you will be able to do

  • Construct risk-and-control matrices linking objectives, risks, controls, owners and evidence
  • Apply ISO 31000 concepts to assess inherent and residual risk
  • Design preventive, detective and corrective controls using COSO principles
  • Analyse segregation-of-duties conflicts within key financial processes
  • Conduct a documented fraud risk assessment using fraud schemes and red flags
  • Test control design and operating effectiveness using evidence-based methods
  • Use data analytics tests to identify duplicate payments, unusual journals and exceptions
  • Prepare a prioritised control remediation and fraud prevention action plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Assess finance-process risks with a documented and repeatable method
  • Recognise fraud indicators before losses or reporting failures escalate
  • Challenge weak controls using clear design and evidence criteria
  • Contribute more effectively to audits, investigations and remediation discussions
  • Produce credible risk and control reports for senior management

For your organisation

  • Fewer opportunities for duplicate payments, unauthorised transactions and payroll abuse
  • Clearer ownership of risks, controls, exceptions and remediation actions
  • Better evidence that key financial controls operate as intended
  • Earlier detection of fraud patterns through targeted monitoring tests
  • More useful reporting to management, internal audit and governance committees

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define risk exposure, assign accountability and establish a practical risk governance structure.

  • Risk appetite, tolerance and capacity distinguished for control decisions
  • ISO 31000 principles linked to governance, strategy and operations
  • Risk universe structured by process, entity, product and channel
  • Event, cause, consequence and control statements written precisely
  • Inherent and residual risk assessed using defined scoring criteria
  • Risk owners, control owners and assurance roles assigned through RACI
  • Board and audit committee oversight responsibilities mapped to reporting lines

Participants can assess process risks and document them in a usable risk-and-control matrix.

  • Process walkthroughs identify handoffs, systems, records and decision points
  • Risk-and-control matrices connect objectives, threats, controls and evidence
  • Five-by-five heat maps calibrated against likelihood and impact definitions
  • Scenario analysis tests plausible fraud, error and disruption events
  • Control gaps prioritised through residual exposure, velocity and detectability
  • Key risk indicators designed with thresholds, owners and escalation actions
  • Risk registers maintained with treatment dates, dependencies and status

Participants can design and describe controls that address defined causes of risk.

  • COSO Internal Control Framework components translated into operating requirements
  • Control environment assessed through authority, competence, ethics and accountability
  • Preventive, detective and corrective controls matched to risk causes
  • Manual, automated and IT-dependent controls classified for testing
  • Segregation-of-duties conflicts identified using incompatible duty matrices
  • Control frequency, precision and evidence specified in control descriptions
  • Entity-level controls clearly distinguished from transaction-level control activities

Participants can identify key control points in major finance processes and evaluate their adequacy.

  • Procure-to-pay risks traced from vendor setup through payment release
  • Three-way matching, approval limits and duplicate-payment checks evaluated
  • Order-to-cash controls address credit, billing, collections and write-offs
  • Journal-entry controls target management override and unsupported adjustments
  • Payroll master-file changes protected by independent review and exception reports
  • Bank reconciliations and treasury payment controls tested for timely evidence
  • Close-process checklists assign reconciliations, reviews and certification responsibilities

Participants can identify fraud schemes, assess exposure and select proportionate prevention measures.

  • Fraud Triangle factors analysed alongside opportunity, pressure and rationalisation
  • ACFE fraud tree categorises asset misappropriation, corruption and statement fraud
  • Fraud risk assessments document schemes, perpetrators, controls and residual exposure
  • Red flags distinguish procurement collusion from ordinary supplier performance issues
  • Management override scenarios examine journals, estimates and related-party transactions
  • Third-party due diligence addresses beneficial ownership, conflicts and sanctions
  • Whistleblowing arrangements protect confidentiality, non-retaliation and case escalation

Participants can apply practical controls for bribery, money laundering, sanctions and third-party misconduct.

  • AML customer risk factors include ownership, geography, product and behaviour
  • Know-your-customer files establish identity, purpose and beneficial ownership
  • Sanctions screening controls address onboarding, payments and periodic rescreening
  • Anti-bribery controls cover gifts, intermediaries, approvals and accounting records
  • Third-party risk tiers determine due diligence depth and monitoring frequency
  • Suspicious activity escalation separates investigation facts from reporting decisions
  • Financial-crime control obligations mapped to local policy and legal advice

Participants can select and interpret targeted analytics tests for fraud and control exceptions.

  • Benford's Law used cautiously to screen unusual digit distributions
  • Duplicate-payment tests compare invoices, vendors, amounts and payment dates
  • Journal-entry analytics filter weekend postings, round amounts and privileged users
  • Continuous monitoring rules generate alerts, exceptions and documented disposition
  • Data quality checks reconcile source populations before testing controls
  • Case prioritisation combines monetary exposure, red flags and recurrence
  • Dashboard metrics report control failures, investigations and remediation ageing

Participants can test controls, evaluate exceptions and manage corrective action through closure.

  • Design effectiveness testing confirms controls address stated risk causes
  • Operating effectiveness samples select periods, populations and supporting evidence
  • Attribute sampling defines deviations, tolerable error and sample rationale
  • Walkthrough evidence validates control performance from initiation through recording
  • Exception evaluation separates isolated errors from systemic control failure
  • Root cause analysis uses five whys and cause-and-effect diagrams
  • Control remediation plans set actions, owners, milestones and validation tests

Participants can support a controlled response to fraud allegations and preserve reliable evidence.

  • Allegation triage assesses credibility, urgency, conflicts and preservation needs
  • Investigation plans define scope, hypotheses, evidence sources and decision authority
  • Evidence preservation maintains chain of custody and access logs
  • Interview planning separates witnesses, subjects, sequence and documentation requirements
  • Fact finding distinguishes corroborated evidence, inference and unresolved questions
  • Investigation reports state findings, financial impact, actions and limitations
  • Disciplinary, recovery and disclosure decisions routed through authorised governance

Participants can report control performance and plan priority improvements for their own work area.

  • Risk reporting links appetite, indicators, incidents and treatment progress
  • Control attestations obtain accountable confirmation of operation and exceptions
  • Audit committee packs present themes, exposure, actions and overdue items
  • Training messages translate fraud risks into role-specific behavioural expectations
  • Speak-up metrics monitor awareness, reports, substantiation and retaliation concerns
  • Annual control calendars coordinate self-assessments, testing and management review
  • 90-day application plans schedule priority control and fraud-risk improvements

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

What you take back to work

  1. Risk-and-control matrix template
  2. Fraud risk assessment template
  3. Segregation-of-duties conflict checklist
  4. Control testing work programme
  5. Fraud indicator analytics checklist
  6. 90-day control improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Finance Managers — need stronger controls over payments, reporting and financial close
  • Internal Auditors — assess control design, evidence and remediation quality
  • Risk Managers — maintain risk registers and monitor treatment actions
  • Compliance Officers — manage fraud, bribery, sanctions and reporting obligations
  • Financial Controllers — oversee reconciliations, journals and control attestations
  • Procurement Managers — reduce supplier fraud, conflicts and purchasing irregularities

Skills and tools covered

Risk assessmentControl designFraud risk analysisControl testingFinancial crime preventionInvestigation management

Tools and standards

ISO 31000, COSO Internal Control Framework, ACFE Fraud Tree, Fraud Triangle

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods and terminology, followed by finance and operational cases drawn from common control failures. Participants analyse process flows, build risk-and-control matrices, assess fraud schemes, review sample evidence and interpret exception data. Group work focuses on control choices, escalation decisions and remediation priorities. Simulations cover allegation triage, evidence preservation and investigation reporting. Each participant develops an application plan for priority risks and controls in their own area of responsibility.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic accounting processes, financial approvals and the purpose of internal controls. Experience in finance, accounting, audit, risk, compliance, procurement or operations is helpful, ideally with some responsibility for reviewing transactions, managing process risks or following policy requirements. Participants should be comfortable reading process maps, financial reports and supporting documentation. Prior internal audit certification, fraud investigation experience, statistical knowledge, specialist data analytics skills or detailed legal knowledge of anti-money-laundering rules is not required.

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

You should understand basic finance processes, approvals and accounting records. You do not need an audit qualification, fraud investigation background or specialist knowledge of financial-crime law.

Bring examples of recurring control issues, process risks or fraud concerns from your work, provided they can be discussed without breaching confidentiality. A laptop is useful for live online delivery and for working with course templates.

It is designed for finance, audit, risk, compliance, procurement and operational professionals with responsibility for processes, transactions or controls. It is particularly useful for managers who need to improve control ownership and fraud prevention.

This course concentrates on internal controls, finance-process risks, fraud schemes, financial crime controls and evidence-based testing. General risk management courses usually give less attention to transaction controls, investigations and fraud analytics.

You can use the risk-and-control matrix to document a process, identify weak controls and assign remediation actions. The fraud risk assessment and testing templates can support reviews of payments, payroll, journals, vendors and other priority areas.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, with about 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group work, simulations, template-based tasks and 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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