Auditing the treasury function – a practitioner’s guide

Learn about the auditing fundamentals necessary to effectively review treasury activities and risks

What is it about?

This course provides a constructive perspective on auditing the treasury function. It goes beyond a mere cost of compliance e.g. checking the robustness of internal control, and demonstrates how internal audit can add value to treasury activity. Internal audit can help ensure that treasury optimises the efficiency and effectiveness with which it performs key processes and manages risks in delivering corporate objectives.

The course addresses the fundamentals necessary to the control of treasury activities and risks at every stage; from setting overall strategy and policy to the day to day management, dealing, processing, settlement and reporting cycles. It will enable delegates to assess the clarity of treasury’s role in the firm, and whether its risk and control processes are adequate.

Highly interactive discussions will focus on real case studies where controls have been weak or have collapsed, illustrating the absolute importance of well-controlled treasury activity.

Programme

Auditing the fundamentals and the link to value

• Assess treasury remit for alignment with overall business strategy, advising on opportunities
• Validate design of treasury strategy and policies (adequacy and coverage)
• Evaluate the risk management cycle (risk implications of analysis and reporting of treasury activities)
• Advise on robustness of service objectives (eliminating processing bottlenecks, inefficiencies)
• Comparison of risk management activities with appropriate benchmarks
• Review appropriateness of current treasury services to stated needs

Auditing Treasury – The approach

• Audit universe
• Methodology
• Risk based assurance plans
• Terms of Reference - quality of internal audit coverage
• Evaluating findings and assessing their significance
• Audit report (style, structure, information, clarity, language)
• Actively reassess audit plan and adapt the audit process

Strategy and Treasury Governance

• The role of the auditor
• Interviews with management, at all levels of dealing, settlement and recording staff
• Articulating treasury’s role in adding sustainable shareholder value
• Review of strategy, policy, objectives, guidelines and delegation of authorities
• Organisation and structure including segregation of duties
• Dealing, settlement and recording procedures
• Warning signals and what to look for

Corporate Governance - the UK perspective

Explore the duties of the board and management per the:

• The Companies Act 2006 (Promote success of company, act in good faith/best interests)
• The UK Corporate Governance Code 2010: Accountability (risks/internal control)

Operations - Structure of a typical corporate and bank’s dealing process

• Bank and business unit structures
• Front, middle and back office structures
• Beyond the Dealing Room

Risks in the dealing operation

• Interactive brainstorming session
  - Human
  - Operational
  - Market and credit risks
• System management
• Audit of electronic payments and manual security methods

Dealing disasters and lessons to be learnt

• Barings, Societe Generale, etc - Recurring problems highlighted

Who is it for?

This course provides a forum for treasurers and auditors to share experiences and discover how they can work together to enhance corporate governance and add value to the firm. It is relevant to group treasurers, treasury managers, controllers, internal and external auditors and those dealing or involved with the review and control of treasury activities in financial institutions, commercial banks and corporate organisations.

How do you benefit?

By the end of the course, you will learn how 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, and identify early warning signals of potential problems. You will also learn how to effectively promote best practice and communicate lessons learned.

Trainer

• Raj Gandhi, FCT, FCCA.