Auditing the treasury function

Effective auditing of treasury activity and risks during Covid and beyond.

Who should attend?

• Internal auditors, group treasurers, treasury managers, controllers, or those on a board of directors
• Those dealing with the review and control of treasury activities in financial institutions, commercial banks, corporate companies, public sector bodies and not-for-profit organisations.

What will I learn?

 Upon completion you’ll be able to:

• effectively plan risk-based treasury audits that add value as well as provide assurance
• gain a deeper understanding of the key issues of control failure concerning strategy and operations
• identify early warning signals of potential problems
• understand how to effectively promote best practice and communicate lessons learned.

Course programme 

Overview of treasury fundamentals and the link to value

• treasury remit for alignment with overall business strategy
• design of treasury strategy and policies
• risk implications of analysis and performance reporting
• robustness of service objectives
• risk management activities with appropriate benchmarks
• appropriateness of current treasury services to stated needs.

Treasury organisation and structure

• advisory/in-house bank
• cost centre/value-added cost centre/profit centre
• centralised/decentralised
• advanced/intermediate/elementary
• segregation of duties
• structure of a typical corporate and bank treasury
• front, middle and back office structures
• beyond the dealing room.

Treasury risks (includes risks in the dealing operation)

• human
• operational
• market and credit risks
• risk mapping
• system management.

Dealing with disasters and lessons to be learnt

• Barings, Société Generale, UBS

Auditing treasury

• audit universe
• treasury jargon
• methodology
• risk based assurance plans
• terms of reference – quality of internal audit coverage
• evaluating findings and assessing their significance
• value adding audit report (style, structure, information, clarity, language)
• actively reassess audit plan and adapt the audit process.

Tackling audit challenges

• staff interviews at all levels of management and operations
• critical review of strategy, policy, objectives, procedures and guidelines
• review of treasury organisation
• warning signals and what to look for. 

Governance

• explore the duties of the board and management
• Companies Act 2006
• UK Corporate Governance Code
• treasury risk committees/role of ALCO in banks
• treasury performance and how they are measured and reported
• Visibility on meaningful environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics.

Derivatives (overview and purpose)

• Forwards, options, swaps
• documentation (e.g. ISDAs). 

Treasury management systems

• security violations (including cyber fraud)
• audit trail
• capacity and capability
• key interfaces
• disaster recovery and business continuity.

CPE Competency areas covered

• International professional practices framework
• Business processes and project management.

14 CPE points

Full price

Member: £1175 + VAT
Non-member: £1390 + VAT

SAVE 20% by undertaking this course virtually