Course Introduction
The Settlement and Clearing Operations Auditing Training Course provides a practical framework for auditing financial market clearing and settlement processes, transaction processing, trade matching, settlement instructions, cash and securities movements, reconciliations, exception management, and operational controls. The course helps participants assess whether post-trade activities are accurate, complete, timely, authorized, and supported by reliable audit evidence.
The course examines the complete clearing and settlement lifecycle, beginning with trade capture and confirmation and continuing through matching, clearing, netting, settlement instruction, delivery-versus-payment processing, cash movement, securities transfer, reconciliation, exception resolution, and final accounting. Participants learn to identify control weaknesses that can result in failed settlements, financial losses, inaccurate records, counterparty exposure, or operational disruption.
Particular emphasis is placed on auditing settlement instructions, transaction matching, settlement dates, cut-off controls, cash and securities positions, custodian records, clearing accounts, suspense accounts, and failed transactions. Participants learn how to independently trace transactions from execution through settlement, verify supporting documentation, investigate unmatched or failed trades, and evaluate whether outstanding exceptions are appropriately monitored and resolved.
The training also addresses clearing and settlement risks arising from counterparties, custodians, central securities depositories, clearing houses, brokers, correspondent institutions, and other market infrastructure providers. Participants develop techniques for evaluating counterparty exposure, settlement risk, liquidity requirements, collateral movements, margin processes, segregation of assets, and controls over third-party service providers.
Modern settlement environments increasingly depend on automated matching systems, straight-through processing, APIs, electronic settlement platforms, central market infrastructure, digital assets, cloud systems, and real-time data exchanges. The course therefore incorporates technology controls, cybersecurity, privileged access, system interfaces, automated reconciliations, data integrity, operational resilience, artificial intelligence, and continuous monitoring risks affecting settlement operations.
Through practical exercises and case studies, participants develop the ability to audit clearing and settlement operations from trade capture through final settlement and reconciliation. They learn to test transaction populations, validate cash and securities movements, investigate settlement failures, assess controls, apply data analytics, document audit evidence, formulate findings, and recommend improvements that strengthen settlement accuracy, operational resilience, financial control, and risk management.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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Internal auditors responsible for banking, investment, securities, treasury, or financial market operations audits.
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External auditors reviewing clearing, settlement, custody, and post-trade financial processes.
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Settlement operations professionals responsible for trade processing and settlement activities.
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Clearing operations professionals managing transaction matching, clearing, netting, and exception processes.
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Securities operations professionals responsible for securities movements and settlement records.
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Custody professionals involved in asset settlement, reconciliation, and safekeeping activities.
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Treasury professionals managing settlement cash flows, liquidity, and payment obligations.
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Risk managers assessing settlement, counterparty, liquidity, operational, and market infrastructure risks.
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Compliance professionals monitoring post-trade controls and financial market requirements.
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Investment operations professionals managing trade confirmation, settlement, and reconciliation processes.
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Finance professionals responsible for settlement accounting and financial reconciliations.
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Information technology auditors reviewing settlement systems, interfaces, automated controls, and access management.
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Operations risk professionals monitoring failed settlements, operational incidents, and control weaknesses.
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Fraud and financial crime professionals investigating suspicious settlement activity and unauthorized transactions.
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Managers and supervisors responsible for post-trade operations, clearing, settlement, custody, or financial control functions.
Course Objectives
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Develop a comprehensive understanding of clearing and settlement operations, post-trade processes, control frameworks, and associated audit risks.
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Map transactions from trade execution and confirmation through matching, clearing, settlement, reconciliation, and accounting.
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Audit settlement instructions, transaction matching, settlement dates, cash movements, securities transfers, and authorization controls.
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Evaluate cash and securities reconciliations between internal records, custodians, brokers, clearing institutions, and settlement infrastructure.
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Identify and investigate failed, unmatched, delayed, rejected, reversed, or incorrectly settled transactions and assess their financial consequences.
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Assess counterparty, custodian, clearing house, settlement agent, and market infrastructure risks affecting post-trade operations.
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Evaluate controls over collateral, margin, liquidity, asset segregation, settlement obligations, and other financial exposures arising during settlement.
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Apply data analytics and technology-assisted procedures to identify settlement exceptions, unusual transactions, duplicate movements, and reconciliation breaks.
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Assess automated settlement platforms, system interfaces, access controls, cybersecurity, change management, audit trails, and operational resilience.
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Develop evidence-based audit findings and practical recommendations that strengthen settlement accuracy, exception management, reconciliations, governance, and operational resilience.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Clearing and Settlement Operations Audit Fundamentals
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Understanding the role of clearing, settlement, custodians, brokers, central counterparties, and market infrastructure in financial transactions.
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Mapping the post-trade lifecycle from trade execution, confirmation, matching, clearing, and netting through final settlement.
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Identifying settlement, counterparty, liquidity, operational, financial reporting, fraud, technology, and compliance risks.
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Developing a risk-based audit approach covering high-value transactions, critical infrastructure, settlement failures, and significant operational dependencies.
Module 2: Trade Capture, Confirmation, and Matching Controls
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Auditing trade capture processes to ensure transaction details are complete, accurate, authorized, and consistent with executed trades.
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Testing trade confirmations, counterparty details, instruments, quantities, prices, currencies, settlement dates, and transaction references.
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Evaluating electronic matching, affirmation, confirmation, exception queues, manual overrides, and unmatched transaction controls.
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Investigating discrepancies between trading platforms, broker records, settlement systems, custodians, and internal accounting records.
Module 3: Clearing, Netting, and Settlement Processing
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Auditing clearing processes involving transaction validation, netting, obligations calculation, and settlement instruction generation.
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Testing settlement instructions for accuracy, authorization, beneficiary details, securities accounts, cash accounts, and settlement locations.
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Evaluating delivery-versus-payment controls, free-of-payment transactions, partial settlements, and settlement sequencing.
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Assessing settlement cut-offs, processing timelines, failed instructions, rejected transactions, and escalation procedures.
Module 4: Cash and Securities Settlement Auditing
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Auditing cash movements associated with securities purchases, sales, income, fees, collateral, margin, and other settlement obligations.
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Verifying securities deliveries, receipts, holdings movements, account ownership, quantities, and settlement status.
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Reconciling settlement records with bank statements, custodian statements, clearing records, securities depository records, and investment accounting systems.
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Testing suspense accounts, settlement accounts, transit balances, unidentified receipts, outstanding payments, and unresolved cash or securities differences.
Module 5: Settlement Reconciliations and Exception Management
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Evaluating daily and periodic reconciliations between trading, clearing, settlement, custody, banking, and accounting records.
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Testing the completeness, accuracy, aging, ownership, and resolution of reconciliation breaks and outstanding settlement exceptions.
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Investigating failed trades, unmatched transactions, partial settlements, duplicate instructions, incorrect allocations, and stale reconciling items.
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Assessing management escalation, root-cause analysis, corrective action, and reporting of recurring settlement failures.
Module 6: Counterparty, Custodian, and Settlement Agent Controls
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Evaluating controls over brokers, custodians, clearing members, settlement banks, central counterparties, and other external service providers.
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Assessing counterparty exposure, settlement limits, authorization controls, service-level arrangements, and monitoring procedures.
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Auditing third-party account structures, asset segregation, settlement agent instructions, and changes to external settlement details.
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Reviewing outsourced settlement activities, provider assurance reports, incident reporting, business continuity, and oversight controls.
Module 7: Liquidity, Collateral, Margin, and Settlement Risk
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Assessing liquidity requirements arising from settlement obligations, margin calls, collateral movements, and unexpected settlement demands.
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Auditing collateral movements, margin calculations, eligibility, valuation, substitutions, releases, and reconciliation procedures.
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Evaluating controls over settlement funding, cash forecasting, intraday liquidity, overdrafts, and emergency funding arrangements.
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Investigating settlement failures caused by insufficient funds, collateral shortfalls, incorrect instructions, timing mismatches, or operational breakdowns.
Module 8: Technology, Automation, Cybersecurity, and Digital Settlement
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Auditing settlement platforms, clearing systems, custody interfaces, payment systems, APIs, automated matching, and straight-through processing.
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Evaluating user access, privileged permissions, system changes, automated controls, interface integrity, audit trails, and transaction authentication.
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Assessing cybersecurity risks including unauthorized settlement instructions, account compromise, payment diversion, data manipulation, and system disruption.
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Evaluating emerging technologies such as distributed ledger settlement, tokenized assets, artificial intelligence, automation, and real-time processing environments.
Module 9: Data Analytics, Fraud Risks, and Continuous Settlement Monitoring
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Applying data analytics to identify duplicate settlement instructions, unusual transaction patterns, abnormal settlement delays, and recurring reconciliation breaks.
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Testing complete transaction populations for unusual counterparties, high-value settlements, manual interventions, overrides, reversals, and unusual timing.
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Identifying fraud risks involving settlement account changes, unauthorized transactions, payment diversion, securities substitution, and fictitious settlement activity.
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Developing continuous monitoring dashboards and exception analytics for failed settlements, aging breaks, counterparty exposures, and operational incidents.
Module 10: Settlement Audit Reporting, Remediation, and Practical Case Studies
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Preparing audit findings that clearly connect settlement deficiencies to evidence, root causes, financial exposure, operational consequences, and control weaknesses.
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Evaluating practical case studies involving failed settlements, incorrect cash movements, securities discrepancies, reconciliation breaks, and unauthorized instructions.
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Developing corrective actions covering settlement controls, reconciliations, exception management, counterparty oversight, technology, and operational resilience.
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Performing audit follow-up, remediation validation, escalation, closure assessment, and reporting of significant or recurring clearing and settlement deficiencies.
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.
