PIMFA Live Online Learning: Financial crime Business-wide risk assessment- the key to getting it right

The Business Wide Risk Assessment (BWRA) is a key pillar in understanding the risks posed to your business and monitoring the effectiveness of you control framework. Yet so many firms are still getting this critical, living document wrong and thus falling short of regulatory expectations.

The Business Wide Risk Assessment masterclass, delivered by Avyse, is your opportunity to step back and consider the financial crime risks your firm is, or could be, exposed to and consider how those risks could be mitigated.
Under the guidance of experienced consultants, you will be guided through a tried and tested approach that will not only improve the quality of your firm-wide risk assessments, but ensure it can be replicated to be the backbone of your financial crime controls in 2024.

Through this masterclass, you’ll learn how to:

• Complete a comprehensive, yet proportionate assessment;
• Document the methodology in a clear, reliable way; and
• Use the outputs of the risk assessment to inform and enhance the financial crime framework.

Masterclass topics covered include:

• Adopting and embedding the latest FCA requirements and industry guidance in your BWRA.
• Providing an in depth look at the business wide risk assessment process.
• Grasping why it’s crucial to get it right, provide tips and tricks we’ve learned by assisting a myriad of firms in developing their BWRA tools and methodologies.
• Sharing best practice from peer firms – specifically, how to keep the BWRA proportionate yet comprehensive and scalable.
• Recognise good and poor practice – common themes Avyse has identified through their Skilled Person and broader advisory work

Working through an example risk assessment, you will learn how to:  

• Avoid the pitfalls most firms make when carrying out and documenting their BWRA.
• Understand and apply different methodologies for carrying out a financial crime risk assessment. This will include:
o Identifying and assessing risks; and
o Identifying and assessing the effectiveness of key controls.
• Replace a tick box exercise approach with a living document to identify ‘real risk’ and that stands up to internal and external scrutiny.
• Determine how to use the outputs of the risk assessment to support internal decision-making processes, including where to enhance controls and allocate additional resources.
• Review, update and improve your BWRA by applying the key principles discussed.
• Conduct with confidence a risk assessment that follows industry good practice
• Explain with confidence to key stakeholders the reasoning and rationale of your BWRA

Who should enrol:

• Heads of Financial Crime / MLROs / Deputy MLROs
• Heads of Compliance and Compliance Leads
• Governance specialists
• Firms currently going through specific registration / authorisation applications.