Certificate in Risk Management (CertRM)

Course overview

Risk Management provides the knowledge and skills needed by finance professionals in addressing practical problems in corporate financial risk management.

The current Risk Management course (RM) will become a certificate paper (CertRM) in 2009. The CertRM course commences in April 2009 and is delivered via a fully online learning programme. The current RM syllabus will be examined for the last time in October 2009.

RM and CertRM count towards the AMCT Diploma in Treasury as one of the stage three electives. CertRM will also be available as a standalone certificate.

Current ACT student? Please visit the Student Area

*Fees for these courses may be subject to change

Course objectives

• Demonstrate how financial risk management fits with an organisation's strategy and its overall risk management objectives
• Enable you to identify risks affecting the organisation and to set financial risk management policy and objectives
• Equip you with technical knowledge of enterprise-wide risk management tools and techniques and help you apply this knowledge in your day-today working environment
• Provide an in-depth understanding of how derivatives and other techniques can be used to manage financial risk.

Who should take this qualification?

The Risk Management course is only available as part of the AMCT qualification and is relevant for those who:

• Are in the early stages of a treasury career or who wish to join a treasury or risk management team in either a corporate or financial institution
• Wish to gain an understanding of the wider issues dealt with by managing risk on an enterprise-wide basis
• Have responsibility for treasury matters or financial risk management as part of a wider overall role
• Are considering a career in treasury or risk management either domestically or internationally
• Work in financial institutions, where there is a need to understand the corporate environment
• Deal with treasury matters as part of an audit, advisory or consultancy role.

Learning outcomes

You will gain:

• A clear understanding of the essential theories, principles and techniques of financial risk management
• Insight into how to create and maintain shareholder value through the management of risk
• The core knowledge, technical and practical skills required for a role in treasury or corporate financial risk management.

Course content

The CertRM course comprises five study units:

Study Unit 1 – Risk and its Management

Study unit 1 begins by considering what risk is and why businesses need to take risks. Risk management is defined and a framework for managing risk is introduced, within which treasury activity fits. The next section discusses types of risks and suggests ways to categorise and analyse risk in the corporate context.

Study Unit 2 – A Risk Management Framework

Organisations have to take risks in order to deliver returns superior to the risk-free rate; as a result, risks are present throughout the organisation. One way to understand and manage these risks is to use a risk management framework - the complexities of risk management can be broken down into a manageable, progressive and integrated sequence. Study unit 2 considers each of the stages of the risk management framework in turn - risk identification, risk assessment, risk evaluation, risk responses and risk reporting. By the end of this study unit, you will have a thorough understanding of the processes that underpin successful risk management in organisations of all types, plus an introduction to the techniques and derivates used to manage and transfer financial risks.

Study unit 3 – Managing Interest Rate and Foreign Exchange Risks

Study unit 3 considers the core financial risks of interest rate and foreign exchange, covering how these risks arise and their potential impact on various measures of financial performance. The techniques and derivatives used to manage these risks are considered in detail, giving you a thorough and practical knowledge of how derivatives such as swaps and options are used to manage these risks.

Study Unit 4 – Managing Liquidity and Other Financial Risks

Study unit 4 begins by looking in detail at another core financial risk - liquidity. Fundamental to the survival of a firm, the essentials of liquidity risk management are explained including funding and investing principles, techniques such as netting, intra group funding and cash concentration, plus vehicles such as in-banks and shared service centres. Finally, other financial risks such as credit, pension and commodity risks are discussed.

Study Unit 5 – Managing Operational Risks

Operational risks, such as criminal activity, legal and systems risk are covered from both an enterprise-wide perspective as well as from the perspective of a treasury department. In the treasury context, operational risks arise from two sources: There is the operational risk inherent in the business and its day to day operations, but in order to undertake financial risk management activity treasury has to take on a significant amount of operational risk within the department. Both these components of the overall operational risk managed by treasury are discussed.

For the Risk Management course content, please see the RM syllabus (PDF 37K).

Study tools

The Risk Management course is delivered via:

• A comprehensive course manual
  • e-learning website providing access to the course manual, past/pilot papers, glossary, student resources and ask the tutor

  What’s included: Course manual (print and online) and access to the e-learning website.

  You will need: Access to a computer with internet connection

  The CertRM course offers a flexible approach to learning through an online study programme comprising:

  • Learning resources – the searchable resource database includes technical content, practical exercises, self tests and further reading materials
  • Study guide – the step-by-step guide directs students through the course and the activities to be completed. It provides guidance on how to get the most from the different learning resources
  • Tutor guided forum – each study group has the support of a tutor to answer questions, solve problems and offer advice through the online forum. This enables regular contact and discussion with both the course tutor and other students.

  What’s included: Access to the e-learning website, learning resources, study guide and forum

  You will need: Access to a computer with internet connection

  Optional Supplementary Reading

  • Essentials of Financial Risk Management, Karen A. Horcher. Published by Wiley & Sons Inc.
  • Derivatives Demystified, Andrew M. Chisholm. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
  Enrol on the CertRM course examined in October 2009 and receive a free copy of both the Essentials of Financial Risk Management and Derivatives Demystified

  You may also find it useful to purchase a financial dictionary. Two recommended books are:

  • A Dictionary of Finance and Banking. Edited Brian Butler & Alan Isaacs (Oxford Paperbacks)
  • Essential Finance: The Essential A-Z. Nigel Gibson (Published by the Economist)

  These books can be obtained from bookshops or from www.amazon.co.uk

  Entry requirements

  Due to the course being written and examined in English, students will need to possess a good standard of English.

  Tuition and revision

  The four day optional tuition course covers core topics. Tuition has been tailored to cover the key areas of the course – reinforcing and improving knowledge. Tuition days complement your home study; each day is intensive, covering a number of topics in detail with lecturers, worked examples and tutorial sessions.

  The three day optional revision course covers exam preparation techniques, revision, tutor-structured solutions and exam question practice. The objective of the revision course is to revise material covered earlier, to enhance your confidence in attempting exam standard questions in the topics covered. Coverage is not comprehensive, but is designed to complement your final exam preparations and the previous tuition course and/or home study programme.

  You can book onto the optional tuition and revision when you enrol or up to 10 days before the start of the courses.

  • Meet the tutors

  Assessment and examination

  Students are assessed by a three-hour written exam.

  CertRM will be examined for the first time in October 2009. The current Risk Management syllabus will be examined in April 2009 and for the last time in October 2009.

  The mark you need to achieve a pass in all papers apart from CertITM is normally 50%. For CertITM the mark you need to achieve a pass is normally 70%. This higher mark is accounted for by the fact that in a multiple choice examination, marks may be gained by guessing the correct answer.

  How can I enrol?

  To enrol on the new CertRM course starting April 2009 for examination in October 2009 complete and return the enrolment & booking form to the ACT by 31 March 2009.

  To enrol on RM as part of the AMCT Diploma in Treasury for examination in April 2009, complete and return the enrolment & booking form to the ACT by 30 November 2008. After 30 November 2008 we will no longer accept enrolments for the RM course – you will be enrolled onto the CertRM programme.

  • Download enrolment & booking form (PDF 81K)

  Continuing your studies

  As well as a standalone qualification, you may also count CertRM as one of the seven papers that comprise the AMCT Diploma in Treasury – the ACT's core treasury qualification which leads to associate membership and use of the designatory letters AMCT.