Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Design Training Course

Course Introduction

Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Design Training Course provides a comprehensive framework for identifying, assessing, prioritising, and responding to fraud risks across organisational processes. The programme examines how organisations can systematically understand fraud exposure, evaluate vulnerabilities, develop realistic fraud scenarios, and design controls that prevent, detect, and respond to fraudulent behaviour.

The course develops participants’ ability to conduct structured fraud risk assessments across financial, operational, procurement, revenue, payroll, technology, third-party, and administrative activities. Participants will examine how fraud schemes develop, how control weaknesses can create opportunities for misconduct, and how risk assessment techniques can be used to determine where preventive and detective controls require strengthening.

A major emphasis is placed on translating fraud risk assessments into effective control designs. Participants explore preventive, detective, corrective, and deterrent controls, together with segregation of duties, approvals, reconciliations, access controls, exception monitoring, supervisory review, automated controls, and management oversight. The programme focuses on designing controls that are proportionate to identified risks while avoiding unnecessary complexity and ineffective control duplication.

Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Design Training Course also addresses fraud risk indicators, data analytics, behavioural patterns, control testing, residual risk, and emerging fraud threats. Participants learn how to use transaction data, process information, historical incidents, audit findings, whistleblowing information, and operational intelligence to identify vulnerabilities and strengthen fraud prevention. The course considers how analytical tools can improve fraud risk visibility and support continuous monitoring.

The programme further examines the relationship between fraud risk management, internal controls, governance, ethics, compliance, investigations, and internal audit. Participants learn how control owners, risk professionals, auditors, compliance teams, and management can collaborate without compromising their respective responsibilities. Practical attention is given to documenting risk assessments, assigning control ownership, evaluating control effectiveness, identifying gaps, and developing sustainable remediation plans.

By completing this programme, participants will be equipped to develop robust fraud risk assessments and translate identified exposures into practical control improvements. The course also considers emerging risks associated with artificial intelligence, digital payments, remote operations, third-party ecosystems, automation, cyber-enabled fraud, and increasingly complex transaction environments, helping organisations strengthen fraud resilience through adaptive control design.

Duration

10 days

Who Should Attend

• Internal auditors responsible for fraud risk assessments, control reviews, fraud audits, and assurance engagements.

• Fraud risk managers responsible for identifying, evaluating, monitoring, and mitigating organisational fraud exposure.

• Risk and compliance professionals designing enterprise fraud risk management frameworks and control environments.

• Internal control specialists responsible for assessing control design, operating effectiveness, and control deficiencies.

• Fraud investigators seeking stronger understanding of how control weaknesses create opportunities for fraudulent activity.

• Finance and accounting professionals responsible for transaction controls, reconciliations, approvals, financial integrity, and fraud prevention.

• Procurement and contract professionals exposed to supplier fraud, collusion, conflicts of interest, and procurement manipulation.

• Human resources professionals assessing payroll, employee, benefits, recruitment, and workforce-related fraud risks.

• Information technology professionals responsible for access controls, system security, automated controls, and technology-enabled fraud prevention.

• Compliance officers responsible for fraud prevention, misconduct controls, ethics, regulatory assurance, and risk monitoring.

• Managers and control owners responsible for implementing fraud prevention and detection controls within business processes.

• Forensic accountants and fraud professionals involved in fraud risk assessments, control reviews, and investigative prevention programmes.

• Governance and audit committee professionals seeking stronger oversight of organisational fraud risk and control effectiveness.

• Senior executives responsible for strengthening organisational resilience, accountability, fraud prevention, and internal control maturity.

Course Objectives

• Develop advanced knowledge of fraud risk assessment principles, methodologies, control frameworks, fraud scenarios, risk indicators, and organisational fraud exposure.

• Conduct structured fraud risk assessments across financial, operational, procurement, revenue, payroll, technology, third-party, and administrative processes.

• Identify realistic fraud schemes by analysing process vulnerabilities, incentives, opportunities, concealment methods, behavioural indicators, and historical incidents.

• Assess inherent and residual fraud risks using structured criteria covering likelihood, impact, velocity, control maturity, exposure, and potential organisational consequences.

• Design preventive, detective, corrective, and deterrent controls that directly address identified fraud scenarios and reduce opportunities for manipulation.

• Evaluate segregation of duties, approval controls, access restrictions, reconciliations, monitoring procedures, exception reporting, and supervisory controls.

• Develop fraud risk registers that clearly document fraud scenarios, risk ratings, control owners, existing controls, residual exposure, and required mitigation actions.

• Apply data analytics and transaction analysis to identify fraud indicators, unusual activity, control weaknesses, emerging patterns, and areas requiring enhanced monitoring.

• Assess control design effectiveness by determining whether controls adequately address identified fraud risks and operate at appropriate points within business processes.

• Develop practical fraud response strategies covering detection, escalation, investigation, containment, recovery, remediation, and prevention of recurrence.

• Integrate fraud risk assessment with enterprise risk management, internal audit, compliance, governance, ethics, investigations, and continuous assurance activities.

• Strengthen fraud resilience through adaptive control design that addresses emerging risks involving artificial intelligence, digital transactions, automation, third parties, and technology-enabled fraud.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Foundations of Fraud Risk Assessment and Control Design

• Principles, objectives, scope, and organisational applications of fraud risk assessment and control design.

• Relationships between fraud risk management, governance, internal controls, ethics, compliance, investigations, and internal audit.

• Common categories of occupational, financial, procurement, revenue, payroll, technology, and third-party fraud.

• Roles and responsibilities of management, control owners, risk professionals, auditors, compliance teams, and fraud specialists.

Module 2: Fraud Risk Governance and Management Frameworks

• Designing fraud risk management frameworks covering governance, policies, responsibilities, risk assessment, monitoring, and response.

• Establishing management accountability, control ownership, reporting lines, escalation procedures, and oversight arrangements.

• Integrating fraud risk management with enterprise risk management, internal control, compliance, and organisational governance.

• Developing fraud policies, procedures, standards, risk appetite considerations, and governance documentation.

Module 3: Fraud Risk Identification and Fraud Scenario Development

• Identifying fraud opportunities across processes, systems, transactions, organisational structures, and third-party relationships.

• Developing realistic fraud scenarios based on process stages, incentives, access opportunities, concealment techniques, and control weaknesses.

• Mapping fraud schemes to affected assets, accounts, processes, systems, individuals, and organisational responsibilities.

• Using historical incidents, audit findings, investigation outcomes, whistleblowing reports, and industry intelligence to strengthen scenario development.

Module 4: Fraud Risk Assessment Methodology and Risk Scoring

• Establishing criteria for assessing fraud likelihood, impact, frequency, velocity, detectability, and potential exposure.

• Distinguishing inherent fraud risk from residual risk after considering preventive and detective controls.

• Developing consistent fraud risk scoring models, risk matrices, prioritisation criteria, and assessment documentation.

• Evaluating changes in fraud exposure resulting from organisational growth, process changes, technology adoption, or emerging threats.

Module 5: Fraud Risk Registers and Process Risk Mapping

• Developing comprehensive fraud risk registers that connect scenarios, processes, controls, owners, ratings, and mitigation actions.

• Mapping fraud risks across end-to-end business processes to identify points of vulnerability and control dependencies.

• Documenting existing controls, control gaps, residual exposure, risk indicators, and management responses.

• Maintaining fraud risk registers through periodic reviews, incident updates, audit results, and changes in the operating environment.

Module 6: Preventive Fraud Control Design

• Designing preventive controls that reduce opportunities for fraud before transactions, decisions, or activities are completed.

• Applying segregation of duties, authorisation limits, approval hierarchies, access restrictions, dual controls, and mandatory documentation.

• Designing controls around high-risk activities such as procurement, payments, payroll, revenue collection, asset management, and contracting.

• Evaluating preventive controls for practicality, proportionality, ownership, consistency, and alignment with identified fraud scenarios.

Module 7: Detective Controls and Fraud Monitoring

• Designing detective controls for identifying unusual transactions, behavioural deviations, policy breaches, and suspicious activities.

• Applying reconciliations, exception reports, supervisory reviews, alerts, transaction monitoring, analytics, and independent verification.

• Establishing risk-based thresholds, monitoring frequency, escalation criteria, and response responsibilities.

• Evaluating detective controls for timeliness, coverage, accuracy, false positives, false negatives, and investigation follow-through.

Module 8: Segregation of Duties, Access and Authority Controls

• Analysing incompatible duties and identifying combinations of access that could create significant fraud opportunities.

• Designing role-based access, approval limits, system permissions, privileged access controls, and periodic access reviews.

• Evaluating override capabilities, emergency access, shared credentials, dormant accounts, and excessive privileges.

• Establishing compensating controls where complete segregation of duties is impractical because of organisational size or operational constraints.

Module 9: Fraud Data Analytics and Risk-Based Control Testing

• Using data analytics to identify unusual transaction patterns, duplicate activity, anomalies, concentrations, and control exceptions.

• Applying trend analysis, outlier testing, duplicate testing, stratification, sequence analysis, and relationship analysis to fraud risk assessment.

• Linking analytical findings to specific fraud scenarios, control weaknesses, process vulnerabilities, and monitoring requirements.

• Designing data-driven control tests that assess whether preventive and detective controls operate consistently and effectively.

Module 10: Fraud Risks Across High-Risk Business Processes

• Assessing fraud risks within procurement, supplier management, contracting, payments, expenses, payroll, revenue, and inventory processes.

• Identifying vulnerabilities in approvals, documentation, reconciliations, vendor onboarding, master data, and transaction processing.

• Designing process-specific controls that address manipulation, collusion, false transactions, duplicate payments, asset theft, and unauthorised activity.

• Integrating process owners and subject-matter specialists into fraud risk assessment and control design activities.

Module 11: Third-Party, Vendor and Relationship Fraud Risk

• Assessing fraud risks associated with suppliers, contractors, agents, consultants, distributors, and other external relationships.

• Designing due diligence, beneficial ownership, onboarding, approval, contractual, monitoring, and performance controls for third parties.

• Identifying collusion, conflicts of interest, kickbacks, inflated pricing, false invoicing, and undisclosed relationships.

• Establishing ongoing third-party risk monitoring based on transaction activity, performance indicators, ownership changes, and emerging concerns.

Module 12: Technology, Automation and Digital Fraud Controls

• Assessing fraud risks arising from enterprise systems, digital payments, automation, remote access, artificial intelligence, and technology-enabled processes.

• Designing automated preventive and detective controls within financial, procurement, payroll, revenue, and operational systems.

• Evaluating system access, audit trails, configuration controls, interface controls, master data, and automated approval mechanisms.

• Addressing emerging risks involving synthetic identities, account takeover, deepfakes, automated manipulation, and digital transaction fraud.

Module 13: Control Effectiveness, Residual Risk and Remediation

• Assessing whether existing controls adequately address identified fraud scenarios and operate at appropriate points within processes.

• Differentiating control design deficiencies from operating failures, execution gaps, documentation weaknesses, and monitoring limitations.

• Developing remediation plans with defined actions, responsible owners, deadlines, resources, and measurable outcomes.

• Reassessing residual fraud risk after control improvements and determining whether additional treatment or monitoring is required.

Module 14: Fraud Response, Escalation and Investigation Interfaces

• Designing response procedures for fraud alerts, control exceptions, allegations, suspicious transactions, and confirmed incidents.

• Establishing escalation thresholds, case referral criteria, investigation responsibilities, evidence preservation, and management notification procedures.

• Connecting fraud risk assessments with investigative findings, root cause analysis, loss quantification, recovery, and corrective actions.

• Using investigation outcomes and lessons learned to update fraud scenarios, strengthen controls, and improve future risk assessments.

Module 15: Continuous Fraud Risk Monitoring and Assurance

• Developing continuous fraud risk monitoring programmes using indicators, dashboards, alerts, analytics, control exceptions, and incident data.

• Establishing key risk indicators and key control indicators that provide early warning of changing fraud exposure.

• Integrating internal audit, compliance, risk management, investigations, whistleblowing, and management information into coordinated fraud assurance.

• Reviewing fraud risk assessments periodically to reflect process changes, control performance, emerging threats, and lessons from incidents.

Module 16: Emerging Fraud Risks and Advanced Control Design Strategy

• Assessing emerging fraud threats associated with artificial intelligence, digital ecosystems, instant payments, automation, and interconnected platforms.

• Designing adaptive controls capable of responding to rapidly changing fraud techniques, behavioural patterns, and technology-enabled schemes.

• Applying advanced analytics, continuous monitoring, behavioural intelligence, and risk-based automation to strengthen fraud resilience.

• Developing strategic fraud control roadmaps integrating governance, people, processes, technology, data, investigation capability, and continuous improvement.

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.