Operational Risk and Compliance Auditing Training Course

Summary

The Operational Risk and Compliance Auditing Training Course delivered by the Geneva Institute of Business Management within the Finance and Accounting category provides a structured corporate framework for strengthening operational risk governance, compliance oversight, internal controls, and audit effectiveness. Organisations increasingly operate across complex regulatory environments, interconnected processes, technology platforms, third-party relationships, and evolving business models. These conditions require organisations to identify operational exposures systematically, assess their potential impact, and maintain control environments that support regulatory compliance and business continuity.

Operational Risk Auditing provides organisations with a practical mechanism for examining how risks arise within processes, systems, people, governance structures, and external relationships. Effective auditing goes beyond identifying isolated control weaknesses. It evaluates whether risk management arrangements are appropriately designed, consistently implemented, monitored, documented, and aligned with organisational objectives and regulatory expectations.

The course examines the development and application of an operational risk framework that connects risk identification, assessment, control design, monitoring, reporting, and remediation. It also explores compliance auditing techniques used to evaluate regulatory obligations, internal policies, procedures, governance requirements, and control effectiveness. Participants gain a corporate understanding of how audit teams can structure evidence-based reviews while maintaining clear documentation and reliable reporting.

A central component of the programme is the risk assessment methodology used to identify significant operational exposures and determine their potential consequences. The course considers risk identification techniques, inherent and residual risk, control effectiveness, risk prioritisation, risk indicators, audit evidence, and remediation planning. It also addresses how internal controls support risk reduction and how auditors can evaluate whether controls operate as intended.

The programme positions Operational Risk Auditing within broader governance, risk, and compliance structures. It considers how internal audit, compliance, risk management, finance, operations, and senior management can work together while maintaining appropriate responsibilities and reporting lines. Attention is also given to audit planning, risk-based audit programmes, control testing, findings, corrective actions, reporting, and ongoing monitoring.

Through this corporate-focused approach, the Geneva Institute of Business Management supports organisations seeking to strengthen operational resilience, regulatory discipline, accountability, and control assurance. The course is relevant to professionals responsible for operational risk, internal audit, compliance, governance, finance, control management, and business operations.

Objectives

The Operational Risk and Compliance Auditing Training Course aims to strengthen organisational capability in identifying, evaluating, monitoring, and controlling operational and compliance risks.

Key objectives include:

• Establish a practical understanding of Operational Risk Auditing and its role within corporate governance.
• Develop an effective operational risk framework aligned with organisational objectives and control requirements.
• Strengthen the ability to identify operational risks across processes, systems, people, technology, and external relationships.
• Apply a structured risk assessment methodology to evaluate operational exposures and determine risk priorities.
• Examine compliance requirements and develop systematic approaches to compliance auditing.
• Apply compliance auditing techniques to policies, procedures, regulatory requirements, and operational processes.
• Evaluate the design, implementation, and effectiveness of internal controls.
• Identify control deficiencies, process weaknesses, compliance gaps, and operational vulnerabilities.
• Develop risk-based audit plans that focus resources on significant areas of exposure.
• Strengthen audit evidence collection, documentation, testing, analysis, and reporting.
• Assess inherent risk, control effectiveness, residual risk, and emerging operational exposures.
• Establish appropriate approaches for monitoring risk indicators and control performance.
• Improve the quality and consistency of audit findings and corrective action recommendations.
• Strengthen communication between audit, compliance, risk, finance, operations, and senior management functions.
• Support effective remediation and follow-up processes for identified deficiencies.
• Enhance organisational readiness for regulatory reviews, internal assessments, and external assurance activities.
• Integrate operational risk auditing with broader governance, risk, and compliance practices.

Target Audience

The course is designed for professionals who contribute to operational risk management, internal control, compliance, audit, governance, finance, and organisational assurance.

It is particularly relevant to:

• Internal auditors responsible for operational and control reviews.
• Compliance professionals responsible for regulatory monitoring and assurance.
• Operational risk managers overseeing enterprise risk exposures.
• Risk and control specialists responsible for control frameworks and risk assessments.
• Finance professionals involved in governance, controls, assurance, and regulatory requirements.
• Governance professionals supporting organisational oversight and accountability.
• Internal control managers responsible for control design and effectiveness.
• Audit managers developing risk-based audit programmes.
• Compliance managers conducting regulatory and policy reviews.
• Business process owners responsible for operational controls and risk mitigation.
• Managers overseeing operational resilience and business continuity.
• Professionals responsible for regulatory reporting and compliance monitoring.
• Senior managers involved in risk governance and organisational assurance.
• Consultants supporting risk, audit, compliance, and control improvement initiatives.
• Professionals seeking to strengthen corporate capabilities in Operational Risk Auditing.

The programme is also suitable for organisations seeking to establish a more consistent approach to operational risk assessment, compliance assurance, control testing, audit reporting, and remediation.

Modules

Module 1: Foundations of Operational Risk Auditing

This module establishes the organisational context of Operational Risk Auditing and examines how operational risk can affect business performance, regulatory compliance, financial outcomes, customer relationships, and organisational continuity.

Key areas include operational risk concepts, sources of operational risk, audit responsibilities, risk ownership, governance structures, audit assurance, and the relationship between operational risk and corporate objectives. The module also considers the distinction between risk management, compliance monitoring, internal audit, and operational control functions.

Module 2: Developing an Operational Risk Framework

This module examines the structure of an effective operational risk framework and its integration into corporate governance.

Topics include risk governance, risk ownership, accountability, risk appetite, risk policies, escalation processes, reporting structures, risk registers, control environments, monitoring mechanisms, and management oversight. The module considers how organisations can establish consistent processes for identifying, assessing, treating, monitoring, and reporting operational risks.

Participants also examine how an operational risk framework can support decision-making while maintaining clear responsibilities across risk, audit, compliance, finance, and operational functions.

Module 3: Operational Risk Identification and Classification

This module focuses on systematic identification of operational risks across organisational activities.

The review covers risks associated with people, processes, systems, technology, information, suppliers, third parties, business change, governance, and external events. Participants examine risk categorisation approaches and methods for connecting operational risks to business processes and strategic objectives.

The module also addresses risk event analysis, historical incidents, control failures, process weaknesses, emerging risks, and recurring operational issues.

Module 4: Risk Assessment Methodology

This module examines the principles and practical application of a structured risk assessment methodology.

Key areas include risk identification, likelihood assessment, impact analysis, inherent risk, control effectiveness, residual risk, risk scoring, prioritisation, and escalation. Participants explore how risk assessment information can support audit planning and determine where audit attention should be concentrated.

The module also considers qualitative and quantitative assessment approaches, risk criteria, evidence requirements, management input, and the importance of maintaining consistency throughout the assessment process.

Module 5: Compliance Auditing Techniques

This module focuses on compliance auditing techniques used to assess adherence to regulatory requirements, internal policies, procedures, contractual obligations, and governance standards.

Topics include compliance audit planning, regulatory requirement mapping, audit criteria, evidence collection, document review, interviews, process walkthroughs, sampling, control testing, exception identification, compliance findings, and audit documentation.

Participants examine how compliance audits can identify gaps between documented requirements and actual operational practices while supporting transparent reporting and corrective action.

Module 6: Internal Controls and Control Effectiveness

This module examines the role of internal controls in reducing operational and compliance risks.

The content covers preventive, detective, corrective, manual, automated, and supervisory controls. Participants assess control objectives, control design, control implementation, operating effectiveness, segregation of duties, approvals, reconciliations, access controls, monitoring activities, and documentation.

The module also explores how auditors can determine whether controls adequately address identified risks and whether control deficiencies require remediation or escalation.

Module 7: Risk-Based Audit Planning

This module examines how organisations can develop audit plans based on risk exposure and organisational priorities.

Topics include audit universe development, risk-based prioritisation, audit scope, audit objectives, resource allocation, audit frequency, control dependency, regulatory priorities, emerging risks, and audit scheduling.

The module focuses on aligning audit activities with material operational risks rather than relying solely on fixed review cycles. It also examines how changes in business activities and risk profiles can influence audit planning.

Module 8: Audit Testing and Evidence Evaluation

This module addresses the methods used to obtain, evaluate, document, and validate audit evidence.

Participants examine audit sampling, control testing, transaction testing, process walkthroughs, analytical review, documentation review, interviews, observation, evidence reliability, and exception analysis.

The module also considers how auditors can maintain sufficient evidence to support audit conclusions and ensure that findings are based on documented and traceable information.

Module 9: Identifying Control Weaknesses and Compliance Gaps

This module focuses on evaluating deficiencies identified during operational and compliance audits.

Topics include control gaps, process weaknesses, policy breaches, regulatory exceptions, ineffective monitoring, inadequate documentation, recurring findings, root cause analysis, and risk implications.

Participants examine how findings can be structured according to condition, criteria, cause, consequence, and corrective action. The module also considers methods for distinguishing isolated exceptions from systemic control weaknesses.

Module 10: Operational Risk Monitoring and Key Risk Indicators

This module explores continuous monitoring of operational risk and control performance.

The content covers key risk indicators, control indicators, risk trends, incident reporting, threshold monitoring, escalation mechanisms, management information, and risk dashboards. Participants consider how monitoring activities can provide early visibility of changing risk conditions.

The module also examines how audit and compliance teams can use monitoring information to identify areas requiring additional review or management intervention.

Module 11: Audit Reporting and Management Communication

This module focuses on producing clear, evidence-based audit reports for management and governance stakeholders.

Key areas include audit findings, risk ratings, executive summaries, control observations, compliance exceptions, root causes, business implications, corrective actions, management responses, and reporting timelines.

The module emphasises concise corporate communication and the importance of presenting audit results in a way that enables responsible stakeholders to understand the issue, risk exposure, required action, ownership, and expected remediation.

Module 12: Remediation, Follow-Up and Continuous Improvement

This module examines the final stages of the audit cycle and the mechanisms used to ensure that identified deficiencies are addressed.

Topics include corrective action plans, remediation ownership, action deadlines, follow-up testing, evidence of closure, overdue actions, escalation, recurring findings, and continuous improvement.

Participants examine how effective follow-up can prevent unresolved findings from becoming persistent operational exposures. The module also considers how audit results can contribute to improvements in policies, processes, controls, risk assessments, and compliance practices.

Module 13: Integrating Operational Risk, Compliance and Internal Audit

This module brings together the major elements of operational risk, compliance, internal controls, and audit assurance.

Participants examine coordination between operational risk teams, compliance functions, internal audit, finance, business units, and senior management. The module addresses responsibilities, information sharing, reporting, assurance mapping, risk escalation, and governance.

The focus is on developing a coordinated approach that reduces duplication while maintaining appropriate independence, accountability, and assurance coverage.

Module 14: Building Sustainable Operational Risk and Compliance Assurance

The final module examines how organisations can sustain effective Operational Risk Auditing through governance, monitoring, control improvement, risk reassessment, audit follow-up, and continuous assurance.

The module considers how changing regulations, technology, business processes, third-party relationships, and organisational priorities can influence operational risk. It also addresses the importance of periodically reviewing the operational risk framework, risk assessment methodology, compliance auditing techniques, and internal controls to maintain relevance and effectiveness.

The Geneva Institute of Business Management positions this programme within the Finance and Accounting category to support organisations seeking structured capabilities in operational risk, compliance assurance, internal control evaluation, audit governance, and risk-based oversight.

FAQs

What is Operational Risk Auditing?

Operational Risk Auditing is a structured review process used to assess operational risks, control effectiveness, governance arrangements, compliance requirements, and potential weaknesses across business processes and organisational activities.

What does an operational risk framework include?

An operational risk framework generally includes risk identification, risk assessment, risk ownership, control management, monitoring, reporting, escalation, remediation, and governance processes.

Why are compliance auditing techniques important?

Compliance auditing techniques help organisations systematically assess adherence to regulatory requirements, internal policies, procedures, contractual obligations, and governance expectations while identifying areas requiring corrective action.

How does risk assessment methodology support auditing?

A risk assessment methodology helps auditors identify and prioritise significant exposures by evaluating factors such as likelihood, impact, existing controls, and residual risk. This supports risk-based audit planning and resource allocation.

Who should attend an Operational Risk and Compliance Auditing Training Course?

The course is suitable for internal auditors, compliance professionals, operational risk managers, risk and control specialists, finance professionals, governance teams, audit managers, compliance managers, business process owners, and senior professionals responsible for organisational risk and assurance.