Certified Expert in Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Compliance

Corporate Governance is the system by which organizations are directed and controlled. It involves regulatory and market mechanisms, the relationships between an entity’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders, as well as the goals for which the entity is governed. Corporate Governance therefore is about strategy as well as Risk Management. Compliance is a core function within a broader definition of risk management and control. Governance, Risk and Compliance are very closely intertwined and are best presented in an integrated format in order to give business leaders the readily applicable tools to succeed.

The author is a member of the board of directors in a small bank, a large non-bank microfinance institution and in an emerging markets investment fund. In practice, we find that every governance level debate about strategy triggers a scenario analysis that brings out the connected risks and compliance issues. Every Risk Management Committee meeting in the end turns into a strategic discussion about what to do next, about how risk control and mitigation measures would interact with the organization’s strategic objectives.

Course Details

In order to complete the course and get certified, participants need to pass a final exam and a course assignment (case study). Participants who have successfully completed the Certified Expert in Risk Management can be certified as Expert in Corporate Governance Risk and Compliance upon completing all the units (passing the online tests) and passing the course assignment.

The course comprises of 5 units, which build upon each other.

Course Objectives

In financial services, future outcomes are never certain. Everything is risky and everyone finds it fashionable to add "risk" to every management buzzword in the book. It can make your head spin. This course is about giving you the vocabulary and the tools to cut through the fluff.

Early on in the course you will learn to identify and structure the various dimensions of risk facing a financial institution using an emerging consensus terminology that is shared between practitioners, regulators and professional risk analysts. Once we have put some order into the risk anecdotes, we will begin to measure exposures and quantify potential losses that could arise, if a risk event materialized. This is where some of the statistics and financial modelling skills come in. But don't worry, if you know a bit of Excel, you will be just fine. Every model, every calculation comes with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidance and examples.

Only if we can measure the exposure to risk by estimating the size of a potential loss and the frequency or likelihood that it might occur, we can begin to consider what should be done about it, i.e. how to manage it.

That sums up the objective of the course. Once you are certified, you will be able to identify risks in your institution, describe them using commonly accepted terminology, quantify the severity and likelihood of losses and devise proper strategies to manage each type of exposure. In parallel, you will also have learned how to organize the processes around risk management and how to communicate with regulators and your own board about the risks and opportunities facing your institution.

Unit 1:The Nature of Risk

1 The Nature of Risk

2 Risk Management Principles and Process

3 Risk Landscape in Banking

4 Risk Management Outside the Financial Industry

Unit 2: Corporate Governance, Risk Management and Organisation

1. What is Corporate Governance?

2. Global Best Practices in Corporate Governance

3. Example / Special Box

4. Corporate Governance - to what End?

5. Internactions Between Legal Form and Corporate Governance

6. Critical Review of Various Board Paradigms

7. Cases and Examples

8. Governance and Prudential Regulation of Financial Institutions

Unit 3: Compliance and Operational Risk Management

1. Conceptual Framework for Operational Risk Management

2. Special Focus on Key Compliance Topics

3. Selected Topics in Operational Risk Management for Financial Services

Unit 4: Credit Risk Management - Selected Tools and Metrics

1. The Nature of Credit Risk

2. Credit Risk Provisioning

3. What Everyone Needs to Know About Credit Rating and Scoring

4. Supply Chain Credit Risk Management

Unit 5: Fundamentals of Asset Liability Management

1. The Basics of ALM

2. Capital Adequacy and Leverage

3. Liquidity Risk Management

4. Interest Rate Risk

5. Foreign Exchange Rate Risk