Master program · Risk, Controls & Surveillance

Design the control. Gather the evidence. Pass the audit.

Master the ETRM control environment: preventive, detective and corrective controls across trade capture, confirmation, valuation, scheduling and settlement; segregation of duties and access governance; stale prices and data quality; operational risk, issues and remediation; and the evidence an internal or external auditor will actually accept.

Trade controls · SoD & access · Stale prices · Confirmations · Settlement · Operational risk · Audit evidence

Enquire about this programme See the 130 chapters

130 chapters · 12 modules · Python + SQL labs · one continuous case · end-to-end capstone

How it is built

Cumulative, not modular

Chapter 130 should be impossible to complete properly without the artefacts built in the chapters before it. The programme follows one continuous fictional firm, NorthStar Energy Trading, so relationships between trades, positions, agreements, exposures and decisions accumulate rather than reset.

The learning chain

Process → Risk → Control objective → Control design → Operation → Evidence → Testing → Issue → Remediation → Assurance

The technical build

Process map → Risk register → Control matrix → Test scripts → Evidence library → Issue tracker → Remediation plan → Control assurance pack

NorthStar Energy Trading is a fictional firm created for teaching. It does not describe any real company, person or investigation.

Curriculum

12 modules · 130 chapters

M0 ETRM Controls & Operational Risk Primer Ch 1–8 · 8 chapters

Establish the control mental model

  1. What an ETRM Control Framework Actually Does
  2. Trade Lifecycle → Risk → Control
  3. Preventive, Detective and Corrective Controls
  4. Manual, Automated and IT-Dependent Manual Controls
  5. Control Objective vs Control Activity
  6. Control Design vs Operating Effectiveness
  7. Evidence and Reperformance
  8. NorthStar ETRM Control Operating Model
M1 Operational Risk & RCSA Ch 9–20 · 12 chapters

Build the risk taxonomy before designing controls

  1. What Operational Risk Means in ETRM
  2. Risk Event Taxonomy
  3. Inherent Risk
  4. Impact Assessment
  5. Likelihood Assessment
  6. Risk and Control Self-Assessment
  7. Residual Risk
  8. Key Risk Indicators
  9. Risk Appetite and Tolerance
  10. Operational Loss Events
  11. Scenario Analysis
  12. NorthStar ETRM RCSA
M2 Trade Capture & Booking Controls Ch 21–34 · 14 chapters

Control what enters the ETRM

  1. Trade Capture Risk
  2. Front-to-ETRM Trade Completeness
  3. Mandatory Field Controls
  4. Product Eligibility
  5. Counterparty Eligibility
  6. Book and Portfolio Controls
  7. Price Tolerance Controls
  8. Quantity and Notional Controls
  9. Backdated Trade Controls
  10. Late Booking Controls
  11. Amendment Controls
  12. Cancellation and Rebooking
  13. Trader vs Operations Approval
  14. NorthStar Trade Control Engine
M3 Segregation of Duties & Access Controls Ch 35–48 · 14 chapters

Control who can do what

  1. Why Segregation of Duties Matters
  2. Role-Based Access Control
  3. Least Privilege
  4. Joiner Controls
  5. Mover Controls
  6. Leaver Controls
  7. Periodic Access Recertification
  8. Privileged Access
  9. Emergency Access
  10. Service Accounts
  11. SoD Conflict Detection
  12. Access Override Monitoring
  13. Access Evidence
  14. NorthStar Identity & SoD Control Engine
M4 Market Data, Curves & Valuation Controls Ch 49–62 · 14 chapters

Prevent a good trade population from being valued badly

  1. Market Data Control Risk
  2. Source Authorization
  3. Market Data Completeness
  4. Stale Price Detection
  5. Price Outlier Detection
  6. Curve Construction Controls
  7. Curve Version Control
  8. Manual Price Overrides
  9. Independent Price Verification Control
  10. Valuation Model Controls
  11. Sensitivity Reasonableness
  12. Market Data Reconciliation
  13. Valuation Exception Governance
  14. NorthStar Market Data Control Framework
M5 Confirmations & Contract Controls Ch 63–74 · 12 chapters

Prove both counterparties agree on the trade

  1. Confirmation Control Objective
  2. Confirmation Population
  3. Confirmation Generation
  4. Confirmation Dispatch
  5. Counterparty Matching
  6. Confirmation Breaks
  7. Unconfirmed Trade Ageing
  8. Amendments After Confirmation
  9. Disputed Trades
  10. Electronic Confirmation Interfaces
  11. Confirmation Evidence
  12. NorthStar Confirmation Control Engine
M6 Settlements, Payments & Cash Controls Ch 75–88 · 14 chapters

Stop errors from becoming actual cash loss

  1. Settlement Risk in ETRM
  2. Settlement Population
  3. Final Price and Fixing Controls
  4. Invoice Calculation Controls
  5. Settlement Instructions
  6. Settlement Instruction Changes
  7. Payment Maker/Checker
  8. Duplicate Payment Controls
  9. Settlement Limits
  10. Cash Reconciliation
  11. Failed Settlements
  12. Payment Fraud Scenarios
  13. Settlement Evidence
  14. NorthStar Settlement Control Engine
M7 Interfaces, Batch Processing & Data Integrity Ch 89–100 · 12 chapters

Control what happens between systems

  1. Interface Risk
  2. Source-to-Target Reconciliation
  3. Duplicate Message Controls
  4. Missing Message Controls
  5. Schema and Mapping Controls
  6. Batch Scheduling Controls
  7. Batch Failure Detection
  8. Restart and Recovery
  9. End-of-Day Control
  10. Reference Data Integrity
  11. Data Lineage Evidence
  12. NorthStar Interface Control Framework
M8 Change, Incident & Operational Resilience Ch 101–112 · 12 chapters

Control the platform when technology changes or fails

  1. Change Risk
  2. Change Classification
  3. Requirements and Impact Assessment
  4. Testing Controls
  5. Production Deployment
  6. Emergency Changes
  7. Incident Detection
  8. Incident Severity
  9. Business Continuity
  10. Disaster Recovery
  11. Third-Party & Cloud Dependency
  12. NorthStar Operational Resilience Framework
M9 Control Testing, Audit & Assurance Ch 113–122 · 10 chapters

Prove the framework actually works

  1. Three Lines Applied to ETRM
  2. Control Design Assessment
  3. Control Population
  4. Sampling
  5. Reperformance
  6. Automated Control Testing
  7. IT-Dependent Manual Control Testing
  8. Audit Trail and Evidence Quality
  9. Audit Findings
  10. NorthStar ETRM Audit Program
M10 Issues, Root Cause & Remediation Ch 123–126 · 4 chapters

Fix the underlying weakness rather than close the ticket

  1. Issue Management
  2. Root Cause Analysis
  3. Remediation Design
  4. Closure Validation
M11 NorthStar Control Failure Capstone Ch 127–130 · 4 chapters

Reconstruct a failure that passed through multiple “effective” controls

  1. The €27M Control Incident
  2. Reconstruct the Failure Chain
  3. Determine Root Cause & Residual Risk
  4. Audit Committee & Operational Risk Defence
How it is delivered

Three ways to take ETRM Controls, Audit & Operational Risk

Self-paced is a document-and-media programme with lifetime access - no live sessions. Cohort and enterprise add live instructor-led training. Mentorship is not offered in any tier.
Feature Self-paced Cohort Enterprise
Format Written chapters, video explainers and podcasts Everything in self-paced, plus scheduled live sessions Everything in cohort, delivered privately to your team
Live sessions None Scheduled, instructor-led Scheduled, instructor-led, private
Mentorship Not offered Not offered Not offered
Access Lifetime Lifetime Lifetime for every enrolled seat
Pace Entirely your own Guided schedule with a peer group Agreed with your desk
Tailoring Fixed curriculum Fixed curriculum Sequenced to your markets, systems and governance
Best for Individuals learning around a job Individuals who want structure and deadlines Desks building the same capability together
For individuals

Get the programme guide

The full chapter list, what each module covers, and how the tiers compare - sent to your inbox as a PDF.

For teams

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Private delivery for your desk, sequenced to your markets and systems. Tell us the team and we will scope it.

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Download the full curriculum, or talk to us about running it for a desk or a control function.

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