Course Introduction

Money laundering and financial crime create complex risks for financial institutions, public sector organisations, corporations, non-governmental organisations, and other entities exposed to financial transactions and third-party relationships. Effective assurance requires auditors to understand how illicit funds can enter, move through, and exit organisational systems, while evaluating whether governance, controls, monitoring arrangements, and investigative processes can identify and respond to suspicious activity.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime Auditing Training Course provides a structured and practical framework for auditing anti-money laundering programmes and broader financial crime controls. Participants examine money laundering typologies, terrorism financing risks, fraud, corruption, sanctions exposure, suspicious transactions, beneficial ownership concerns, customer risk, and other financial crime threats while developing the ability to translate these risks into focused audit objectives and procedures.

The programme places strong emphasis on risk-based auditing and control effectiveness. Participants learn how to assess financial crime risk profiles, evaluate customer and counterparty due diligence, test transaction monitoring systems, review suspicious activity escalation processes, assess sanctions screening controls, and determine whether management has established appropriate preventive and detective mechanisms. The course also examines how auditors can assess whether controls operate effectively rather than simply confirming that documented policies exist.

Advanced sessions explore financial crime data analytics, transaction reconstruction, network analysis, digital payments, virtual assets, automated monitoring, artificial intelligence, and technology-enabled financial crime. Participants learn how analytical techniques can identify unusual transaction patterns, rapid movement of funds, structuring, unexplained relationships, dormant-account activity, high-risk counterparties, and other indicators requiring additional examination. The course also considers data quality and model governance as important components of modern financial crime assurance.

Participants will also develop practical skills for reviewing financial crime investigations and case-management processes. The programme addresses evidence evaluation, investigative documentation, suspicious activity case files, escalation, confidentiality, reporting arrangements, remediation, and follow-up. Particular attention is given to maintaining auditor independence and professional scepticism when reviewing sensitive cases involving customers, employees, suppliers, intermediaries, politically exposed persons, or other higher-risk relationships.

By completing the course, participants will be better equipped to plan, execute, document, and report AML and financial crime audits using a structured risk-based approach. They will be able to identify control gaps, analyse financial information, assess monitoring effectiveness, challenge weaknesses, communicate significant findings, and support stronger financial crime governance through practical and sustainable recommendations.

Duration

10 days

Who Should Attend

• Internal auditors responsible for AML, financial crime, fraud, compliance, and regulatory assurance reviews.

• Compliance officers responsible for anti-money laundering and financial crime compliance programmes.

• Risk managers responsible for assessing financial crime exposure and control effectiveness.

• Financial crime investigators conducting transaction reviews, suspicious activity investigations, and case assessments.

• Forensic auditors examining financial transactions, fund movements, fraud, corruption, and illicit financial activity.

• External auditors reviewing financial crime controls, regulatory compliance, and governance arrangements.

• Banking and financial services professionals responsible for AML and transaction monitoring controls.

• Finance professionals responsible for payment controls, financial reporting, reconciliations, and transaction oversight.

• Legal and regulatory professionals supporting financial crime compliance, investigations, and regulatory obligations.

• Fraud risk professionals responsible for detecting and preventing financial misconduct and financial crime.

• Data analysts supporting transaction monitoring, financial intelligence, continuous auditing, and anomaly detection.

• Senior managers overseeing compliance, risk, internal controls, governance, and financial crime programmes.

• Audit committee members seeking stronger understanding of AML assurance, financial crime risk, and control effectiveness.

• Public sector and development-sector professionals responsible for financial integrity, accountability, and illicit-finance risk management.

Course Objectives

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of money laundering, financial crime, terrorist financing, fraud, corruption, sanctions exposure, and related financial integrity risks.

• Apply risk-based AML auditing methodologies to assess financial crime exposure across customers, products, services, transactions, channels, locations, and third-party relationships.

• Evaluate AML governance frameworks, policies, procedures, accountability arrangements, risk appetites, compliance responsibilities, and management oversight mechanisms.

• Assess customer and counterparty due diligence controls, including identification, verification, risk classification, enhanced due diligence, beneficial ownership, and ongoing monitoring.

• Test transaction monitoring systems and procedures to determine whether suspicious patterns, unusual activity, alerts, investigations, and escalation processes operate effectively.

• Examine sanctions screening and financial crime controls to identify weaknesses in screening logic, data quality, alert handling, escalation, documentation, and management oversight.

• Apply financial crime data analytics techniques to identify anomalies, unusual transaction patterns, relationships, fund movements, and other indicators requiring further investigation.

• Assess the effectiveness of suspicious activity identification, investigation, escalation, reporting, case management, documentation, and management response processes.

• Evaluate financial crime risks associated with digital banking, electronic payments, virtual assets, fintech platforms, correspondent relationships, and other emerging financial ecosystems.

• Strengthen audit procedures for assessing beneficial ownership, politically exposed persons, high-risk customers, complex structures, intermediaries, and unusual transaction relationships.

• Develop evidence-based AML audit findings and recommendations that address control deficiencies, root causes, risk consequences, accountability, and sustainable remediation.

• Build an integrated financial crime assurance approach combining internal audit, compliance monitoring, risk management, investigations, data analytics, governance oversight, and continuous monitoring.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of AML and Financial Crime Auditing

• Understanding money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, corruption, sanctions violations, tax-related financial crime, and other illicit financial activities.

• The role of internal audit, compliance, risk management, investigations, management, and governance bodies in financial crime assurance.

• Major financial crime typologies, stages of money laundering, transaction channels, concealment methods, and organisational vulnerabilities.

• Principles of risk-based auditing, professional scepticism, independence, confidentiality, evidence evaluation, and objective financial crime assurance.

Module 2: AML Governance, Policies and Control Frameworks

• Evaluating AML governance structures, board oversight, management accountability, compliance responsibilities, policies, procedures, and risk appetite.

• Assessing the design and implementation of preventive, detective, investigative, corrective, and monitoring controls within AML programmes.

• Reviewing AML programme documentation, control ownership, escalation mechanisms, management information, exception handling, and governance reporting.

• Assessing organisational culture, employee awareness, training, accountability, disciplinary arrangements, and management commitment to financial crime prevention.

Module 3: Financial Crime Risk Assessment and Audit Planning

• Developing financial crime risk assessments covering customers, products, services, delivery channels, geographies, transactions, and third parties.

• Identifying inherent and residual financial crime risks using risk scenarios, historical incidents, regulatory concerns, audit findings, and control assessments.

• Translating financial crime risk assessments into risk-based audit objectives, scope, testing strategies, sampling approaches, and evidence requirements.

• Designing AML audit programmes that focus resources on high-risk areas while maintaining appropriate coverage, documentation, quality, and professional judgement.

Module 4: Customer Due Diligence and Know Your Customer Controls

• Auditing customer identification, verification, onboarding, risk classification, documentation, beneficial ownership, and ongoing customer information requirements.

• Evaluating enhanced due diligence processes for higher-risk customers, complex ownership structures, unusual activities, and elevated financial crime exposure.

• Testing customer risk-rating methodologies, review frequencies, exception controls, documentation standards, and management approval processes.

• Identifying weaknesses in customer records, incomplete documentation, outdated information, inappropriate risk classifications, and ineffective monitoring arrangements.

Module 5: Beneficial Ownership, PEPs and High-Risk Relationships

• Assessing controls for identifying beneficial owners, politically exposed persons, close associates, family relationships, and other higher-risk relationships.

• Reviewing enhanced due diligence procedures for complex corporate structures, trusts, intermediaries, offshore relationships, and opaque ownership arrangements.

• Testing approval, escalation, monitoring, documentation, and periodic review controls for politically exposed and higher-risk customers.

• Applying relationship analysis and corroborative evidence to identify inconsistencies between declared customer profiles and observed financial activity.

Module 6: Transaction Monitoring and Suspicious Activity Detection

• Evaluating transaction monitoring frameworks, risk scenarios, thresholds, alert generation, prioritisation, investigation, and escalation processes.

• Identifying suspicious patterns involving structuring, rapid movement of funds, unusual transfers, dormant accounts, round amounts, and inconsistent transaction behaviour.

• Testing alert quality, false-positive management, investigation documentation, case closure decisions, escalation criteria, and management oversight.

• Assessing whether transaction monitoring scenarios remain aligned with changing products, customer behaviours, financial crime typologies, and emerging risks.

Module 7: Suspicious Activity Investigation and Financial Intelligence

• Reviewing suspicious activity investigation processes from initial alert assessment through case development, escalation, documentation, and closure.

• Evaluating investigative evidence including account records, payment information, customer profiles, correspondence, transaction histories, and supporting documentation.

• Assessing case-management controls, investigation timelines, decision quality, escalation protocols, confidentiality, and information-sharing arrangements.

• Developing audit procedures to determine whether suspicious activity is consistently identified, investigated, documented, escalated, and appropriately resolved.

Module 8: Sanctions, Screening and Financial Crime Compliance

• Evaluating sanctions screening frameworks covering customers, counterparties, transactions, beneficial owners, employees, and relevant third parties.

• Testing screening data quality, matching logic, threshold configuration, alert handling, false-positive resolution, escalation, and management oversight.

• Assessing controls for sanctions-related transactions, restricted relationships, screening exceptions, system changes, and escalation of potential matches.

• Reviewing governance over sanctions compliance, regulatory updates, screening-list management, control testing, issue remediation, and assurance reporting.

Module 9: Financial Crime Data Analytics and Continuous Auditing

• Applying data analytics to identify unusual transactions, rapid fund movements, duplicate activity, abnormal patterns, and suspicious relationships.

• Developing analytical tests using customer, account, transaction, payment, geographic, vendor, employee, and counterparty information.

• Using network analysis, trend analysis, anomaly detection, clustering, exception analysis, and continuous monitoring to strengthen financial crime assurance.

• Evaluating data completeness, accuracy, lineage, system interfaces, analytical models, automated alerts, and governance over technology-enabled AML controls.

Module 10: Fraud, Corruption and Financial Crime Intersections

• Examining relationships between money laundering, fraud, corruption, bribery, procurement misconduct, asset misappropriation, and other financial crime risks.

• Identifying transactions and control weaknesses that may facilitate movement, concealment, conversion, or integration of proceeds from underlying misconduct.

• Evaluating coordination between AML, fraud risk, internal audit, compliance, forensic investigation, procurement, finance, and legal functions.

• Developing integrated audit procedures for situations where financial crime indicators overlap with fraud allegations, corruption concerns, or control failures.

Module 11: Digital Payments, Fintech and Emerging Financial Crime Risks

• Assessing AML risks associated with mobile money, digital banking, payment platforms, fintech services, instant payments, and technology-enabled financial ecosystems.

• Examining financial crime risks arising from virtual assets, digital wallets, online platforms, cross-border payments, and rapidly evolving payment technologies.

• Evaluating automated controls, application interfaces, transaction velocity, authentication mechanisms, system monitoring, and technology-related financial crime vulnerabilities.

• Developing audit responses to emerging typologies involving automation, artificial intelligence, digital identity, synthetic identities, and technology-enabled concealment.

Module 12: Correspondent Banking, Cross-Border and Third-Party Financial Crime Risk

• Assessing financial crime risks associated with correspondent relationships, cross-border transactions, intermediaries, agents, payment processors, and third-party service providers.

• Evaluating due diligence, risk classification, contractual safeguards, transaction monitoring, information-sharing, and ongoing oversight of higher-risk relationships.

• Testing controls over international transfers, nested relationships, unusual payment corridors, complex transaction chains, and higher-risk jurisdictions.

• Developing audit procedures for third-party financial crime controls, outsourcing arrangements, service providers, and extended financial transaction ecosystems.

Module 13: AML Technology, Model Risk and Control Effectiveness

• Assessing AML technology architecture, automated monitoring platforms, screening solutions, alert management systems, case-management tools, and system interfaces.

• Evaluating data quality, model assumptions, scenario configuration, threshold management, model validation, change controls, and technology governance.

• Auditing automated decision processes to determine whether systems generate appropriate alerts, preserve audit trails, and support effective human review.

• Identifying technology-related control weaknesses that could create blind spots, excessive false positives, missed alerts, delayed investigations, or unreliable financial crime reporting.

Module 14: AML Audit Evidence, Reporting and Regulatory Assurance

• Developing audit evidence requirements for AML engagements and evaluating relevance, reliability, sufficiency, completeness, accuracy, and traceability.

• Preparing clear audit findings covering control conditions, applicable criteria, root causes, financial crime consequences, risk significance, and corrective actions.

• Communicating significant AML weaknesses to management, audit committees, boards, compliance functions, legal teams, and other authorised stakeholders.

• Strengthening regulatory assurance through structured documentation, issue escalation, management responses, remediation tracking, and evidence-based reporting.

Module 15: AML Remediation, Follow-Up and Continuous Assurance

• Designing follow-up procedures to determine whether AML control weaknesses have been corrected and whether remediation has reduced residual financial crime exposure.

• Assessing management action plans, accountable owners, implementation timelines, evidence of completion, and sustainability of corrective measures.

• Integrating internal audit, compliance testing, risk monitoring, investigations, quality assurance, data analytics, and governance oversight into continuous assurance.

• Developing performance indicators for AML control effectiveness, alert management, investigation quality, reporting timeliness, remediation, and emerging financial crime exposure.

Module 16: Emerging Financial Crime Threats and Advanced AML Audit Strategy

• Assessing emerging financial crime risks involving artificial intelligence, deepfakes, synthetic identities, automated fraud, digital assets, instant payments, and advanced cyber-enabled schemes.

• Examining increasingly complex laundering structures involving layered transactions, cross-border networks, digital channels, intermediaries, shell entities, and rapidly changing financial ecosystems.

• Developing intelligence-led and analytics-driven AML audit strategies capable of adapting to changing financial crime typologies, technology, products, and regulatory expectations.

• Building future-ready financial crime assurance programmes that integrate continuous auditing, advanced analytics, risk intelligence, technology governance, investigations, and senior-level oversight.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue 

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment:

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.