PIMFA
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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:Â Â
• 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.
More about Helen Murphy
Helen has over 20 years’ financial crime experience gained in a variety of roles at major financial services firms, consultancy firms and a secondment to the regulator. These positions have covered advisory, assurance, governance, reporting and policy, and she has been a MLRO.
Helen is currently on secondment at a UK bank and has recently worked with the Firm to completely redesign and enhance its BWRA methodology. She has undertaken detailed reviews and provided comprehensive feedback to multiple Firms on their BWRAs during her time at Avyse Partners and has provided training to firms on BWRAs.
More about Shahil Thakar
Shahil has spent over 10 years supporting firms to develop their Financial Crime systems and controls. He has a blend of experience working on secondment within regulated firms directly enhancing their frameworks, advising the FCA in his capacity as an AML Specialist and in consulting.
He recently spent 18 months on secondment at the FCA, where he was responsible for assessing the control frameworks in place at firms seeking Cryptoasset Registration. This involved creating a consistent methodology for the FCA to assess the FC framework of firms seeking regulatory permissions and included detailed assessments of the firms’ BWRAs.
In addition, Shahil has a wealth of experience in designing and reviewing BWRAs for a range of firms
More about James Woodward
James spent almost four years at the FCA, working in a number of departments including the Digital Assets’ Authorisations team and the Crypto Policy Team. As an Authorisations Case Officer James reviewed firms’ applications to the FCA. This involved him assessing their FC frameworks, including detailed reviews of their BWRAs.
James has recently designed and delivered a firm’s BWRA and associated methodology and has written and delivered BWRA training to a firm.
