Corporate Governance is the system by which organizations are directed and controlled. It involves regulatory and market mechanisms, the relationships between an entity’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders, as well as the goals for which the entity is governed. Corporate Governance therefore is about strategy as well as Risk Management. Compliance is a core function within a broader definition of risk management and control. Governance, Risk and Compliance are very closely intertwined and are best presented in an integrated format in order to give business leaders the readily applicable tools to succeed.
The author is a member of the board of directors in a small bank, a large non-bank microfinance institution and in an emerging markets investment fund. In practice, we find that every governance level debate about strategy triggers a scenario analysis that brings out the connected risks and compliance issues. Every Risk Management Committee meeting in the end turns into a strategic discussion about what to do next, about how risk control and mitigation measures would interact with the organization’s strategic objectives.
We Do We Offer?
Tuition fees*
| Registration Date | Fee |
| Before Jul. 15, 2023 | EUR 1,350* |
| After Jul. 15, 2023 | EUR 1,550* |
Final exam fee: An additional final exam fee will be charged for the second and third final exam attempt.
Discounts:
Payment in instalments is unfortunately not possible.
*Subject to change
Target Audience
This course is of interest for senior professionals and aspiring leaders in financial institutions as well as in many other sectors of commerce and industry.
The content is particularly relevant for managers and directors in retail and small business banks, leasing firms, consumer credit companies, microfinance institutions, but also for leadership teams in growing non-financial businesses and technology driven start-ups, both in emerging and developed markets.
As a current or future leader, you need to understand the evolving best practices in Governance, Risk and Compliance and turn them into a competitive advantage for your own business.
Workload
The course takes 6 months assuming 5-7 hours of self-study per week. It consists of 5 units which build upon each other. You will take the units in sequence and will need to pass an online multiple choice test before accessing the next unit.
The CERGC course includes 2 mandatory assignments, which have to be submitted on a specific date.
Not sure if you manage to complete the course within 6 months? No worries! You can apply for a course extension and join the next intake, against an administrative fee.
Dates
| Course Start | Course End | Registration | Early Bird |
| Sept. 1 | Feb. 28 | Jun. 1 - Sept. 1 | by Jul. 15 |
| Mar. 1 | Aug. 31 | Dec. 1 - Mar. 1 | by Jan. 15 |
All our courses contribute to the following SDGs
This course will enhance your knowledge in the following SDGs. The SWA offers professional and executive courses dedicated to the advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Registrations for the programme beginning 1 September 2023 will open on 1 June. Get notified by signing up for our newsletter.
To complete the course and get certified, participants need to complete the five units and pass the two course assignments and the final exam. Participants who have successfully completed the Certified Expert in Risk Management can be certified as Expert in Corporate Governance Risk and Compliance upon completing all the units (passing the online tests) and passing the first course assignment.
Course Objectives
In financial services, future outcomes are never certain. Everything is risky and everyone finds it fashionable to add "risk" to every management buzzword in the book. It can make your head spin. This course is about giving you the vocabulary and the tools to cut through the fluff.
Early on in the course you will learn to identify and structure the various dimensions of risk facing a financial institution using an emerging consensus terminology that is shared between practitioners, regulators and professional risk analysts. Once we have put some order into the risk anecdotes, we will begin to measure exposures and quantify potential losses that could arise, if a risk event materialized. This is where some of the statistics and financial modelling skills come in. But don't worry, if you know a bit of Excel, you will be just fine. Every model, every calculation comes with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidance and examples.
Only if we can measure the exposure to risk by estimating the size of a potential loss and the frequency or likelihood that it might occur, we can begin to consider what should be done about it, i.e. how to manage it.
That sums up the objective of the course. Once you are certified, you will be able to identify risks in your institution, describe them using commonly accepted terminology, quantify the severity and likelihood of losses and devise proper strategies to manage each type of exposure. In parallel, you will also have learned how to organize the processes around risk management and how to communicate with regulators and your own board about the risks and opportunities facing your institution.
Suggestions and Recommendations
This course gives you the flexibility to decide on the timing and pace of your learning experience. However we will provide you with recommendations for you to take as much as possible from this course.
Your schedule: We will provide you a course schedule including voluntary and mandatory deadlines. The course schedule serves as a guideline for your personal learning schedule and will help you complete the programme within the given time frame.
Exercises: Even though the exercises in the script are not mandatory we strongly advise that you use them as an opportunity to check your knowledge and to prepare for the final exam.
Networking Opportunities: Use the forum to introduce yourself to your peer participants and to start interesting discussions.
Unit 1:The Nature of Risk
1 The Nature of Risk
2 Risk Management Principles and Process
3 Risk Landscape in Banking
4 Risk Management Outside the Financial Industry
Unit 3: Compliance and Operational Risk Management
1. Conceptual Framework for Operational Risk Management
2. Special Focus on Key Compliance Topics
3. Selected Topics in Operational Risk Management for Financial Services
Unit 2: Corporate Governance, Risk Management and Organisation
1. What is Corporate Governance?
2. Global Best Practices in Corporate Governance
3. Example / Special Box
4. Corporate Governance - to what End?
5. Internactions Between Legal Form and Corporate Governance
6. Critical Review of Various Board Paradigms
7. Cases and Examples
8. Governance and Prudential Regulation of Financial Institutions
Unit 4: Credit Risk Management - Selected Tools and Metrics
1. The Nature of Credit Risk
2. Credit Risk Provisioning
3. What Everyone Needs to Know About Credit Rating and Scoring
4. Supply Chain Credit Risk Management
Unit 5: Fundamentals of Asset Liability Management
1. The Basics of ALM
2. Capital Adequacy and Leverage
3. Liquidity Risk Management
4. Interest Rate Risk
5. Foreign Exchange Rate Risk
Sample Training Material
*subject to change
The flexibility of our courses offers you the opportunity to follow your own schedule and to combine daily work with professional development.
The high quality offered will immediately improve your daily job performance as well as the performance of your institution.
Training Material
Video Lectures
Online Tests
Each unit ends with an online test comprising a set of 10 - 15 multiple choice questions. Only after having successfully completed an online test you will gain access to the next unit.
Reading Material
A PDF script is for most of our courses the main studying material. This reading material provides basic concepts and principles applicable to the subject of each unit.
Assignments
The key to successful learning is the immediate use of newly acquired knowledge and the transfer of theory into practice. Our online courses are therefore supplemented by mandatory assignments.
Discussion Forum
A course discussion forum enables the interaction between participants and trainers and facilitates the exchange of experiences as well as possibilities to ask questions or get clarifications.
Final Exam
Passing a final examination is a requirement for obtaining your certificate.
If you do not wish to take the final exam, you will receive a confirmation of course participation after completing the course.
Dr. Joachim Bald
Joachim is Frankfurt School’s most senior international advisor and a recognized expert in Treasury and Risk Management for banking and microfinance. He serves as lead consultant and trainer at the Frankfurt School Competence Center in Risk Management and regularly manages complex implementation assignments in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. More...
Master of Leadership in Sustainable Finance
The Certified Expert in Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Compliance is an Elective Module of the Master of Leadership in Sustainable Finance. Join our Master programme after completing the CERGC course and waive one elective module. Also, the amount you paid for the course will be deducted from the final tuition fee of the Master programme.
Inclusive Finance Summer Academy
As a participant of our “Certified Expert in Risk Management” e-learning course, we offer you an exclusive 30% discount* for the Risk Management track in our Inclusive Finance Summer Academy(November 23 - 27th, 2020) . This brings down the aggregated tuition fee from 1300 EUR + 4300 EUR to 3920 EUR ** (Regular fee of both programmes) or 1100 EUR + 3655 EUR to 3328,5 EUR** (Early bird of both programmes)
*(including access to the e-learning course, training materials for the on campus training, full board, accommodation & local transportation ticket).
Diploma in Financial Inclusion
The Certified Expert in Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Compliance is part of the curriculum of our Diploma in Financial Inclusion. Enroll to our Diploma after completing the CERGC course and waive one module. Also, the amount you paid for the course will be deducted from the final tuition fee of the Diploma.
Jessica Belke
Programme Manager
