The General Asset Management Control Environment:

• Structure and roles in an asset management firm
• Governance in asset management
• Types of funds and how this changes risk
• General introduction to investment asset types and associated risk
• Introduction to asset allocation and how this mitigates risk
• Introduction to benchmarks and performance evaluation
• Identification of controls
• Identification of risks and risk register
• What can go wrong in asset management
• Case study: What information is of greatest importance to the internal auditor? What should be requested in advanced?
• Case study: Develop a pre-audit planning document suitable for an asset management audit

Acquiring a Client:

• Controls over new clients
• Risks associated with client take on procedures
• What information should be maintained to demonstrate Know Your Customer (KYC)?
• How can you keep this up to date?
• How can you audit the client agreement?
• How should client suitability be documented
• The moral vs. actual risk dilemma
• Case study: Develop an audit program suitable to audit the acquisition process and also for on-going review of existing relationships

Quoted Equity Investment:

• The risk associated with acquiring securities
• The risks associated with managing securities
• Risk associated with corporate actions
• Pricing of quoted equity investment
• Risks associated with international equity markets
• What is tracking error?
• Controls over equity valuation techniques
• Financial statement analysis
• Ratio analysis
• The selection of the benchmark
• The role of middle and back office
• Securities lending
• Case Study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of quoted equity investments
• Case Study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit securities lending

Quoted Fixed Income Investment:

• The use of ratings with pricing of fixed income securities
• The use of ratings with pricing of fixed income securities
• Risk and controls within the corporate fixed income processing
• Risks associated with Government securities
• How to use sovereign risk ratings
• The valuation of government securities
• Risk and controls within sovereign bond processing
• Case study Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of quoted fixed income investments

The Risk Management of Alternative Investments:

• What are alternative investments?
• Structured products risks and returns
• Hedge funds
• What is a hedge fund?
• Risks and controls
• Venture capital
• Valuation issues
• Risk and control
• Property
• Synthetic property
• Acquiring property
• Risk and control
• Private equity/ angel finance
• What is private equity?
• Risks and controls
• Case study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of alternative investments

Money Market Funds:

• Role in asset management
• Asset and liability management
• Portfolio Liquidity
• Asset diversification
• Key risks and controls
• Case Study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of money markets funds

The Risks in Asset Allocation & Portfolio Management:

• Asset allocation and risk management
• Use of historical data
• Client suitability
• Risks and controls
• Tactical asset allocation
• Risks associated with core and satellite
• Risk and controls
• Case Study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of asset allocation and portfolio management

The Risks in Outsourcing and the Selection and Management of Third Parties:

• The selection process
• The service level agreement and other contracting issues
• The testing phase
• Key performance indicators
• Risks and controls
• Case study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of outsourced relationships

Other Matters:

• Reporting to senior management
• Escalation based reporting
• Risks and controls
• Reporting performance
• The client report
• Standards of reporting
• Risks and controls
• Risk issues in pensions fund Management
• The role of the pension trustee
• Asset & liability management in a pension fund
• Risk and controls
• Credit risk
• Counterparty credit risk
• Use of limits
• Central counterparties
• Risks and controls
• Scenario Modelling
• How to use scenario modelling in asset management
• Stress Testing and sensitivity Analysis
• How to use stress testing and sensitivity analysis in asset management
• Case study: Discuss how to audit stress testing and scenario analysis
• Case Study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of counterparty credit analysis
• Case Study: Develop an audit program suitable for the audit of the reporting of asset management

You will learn about the general asset management control environment, and the key considerations when auditing KYC compliance requirements, traditional and derivative investments, money market funds, asset allocation and third parties.

As the complexity and related risks in the asset management world have grown and to review these activities effectively auditors must have a comprehensive understanding of the many elements involved.

Highly interactive expert-led intensive presentation, Q&A, group real-time in-depth case studies, regulation and discussion supported by key principles and theory.

The virtual learning platform uses safe, industry preferred encrypted Cisco WebEx to optimize live face-to-face visual interaction, discrete chat, for polling and quizzes.

(An invitation via email with access link is included for all participants.)