Build, Manage and Evaluate an Effective Compliance and Ethics Program
Regulatory compliance is no longer a back-office administrative function. It is an organization-wide management responsibility that affects governance, risk, reputation, financial performance, operational continuity, and stakeholder confidence.
The Certified Compliance Specialist program provides an intensive examination of the principles, frameworks, controls, and professional practices needed to develop and maintain an effective compliance and ethics program.
Led by international compliance, financial crime, and due-diligence expert L. Burke Files, the program moves beyond simply identifying applicable laws and regulations. Participants learn how to integrate compliance responsibilities into business operations, internal control, enterprise risk management, employee conduct, management reporting, training, monitoring, and corrective action.
The program addresses the complete compliance management cycle:
Identifying applicable obligations
Assessing compliance risks
Establishing policies and procedures
Assigning responsibility and authority
Training employees and management
Creating effective reporting channels
Monitoring and testing compliance
Investigating suspected violations
Correcting identified deficiencies
Reporting results to senior management and the board
Evaluating and improving the compliance program
Participants will examine recognized compliance concepts and frameworks, including the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations, COSO internal control principles, Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, whistleblower protections, anti-money laundering controls, fraud prevention, corporate governance, ethics, and risk management.
Certification Process
This course is designed to support the Certified Compliance Specialist certification process. L. Burke Files will assist participants with the applicable certification documentation and administrative requirements.
Certification candidates may be required to satisfy eligibility, membership, assessment, ethics, continuing education, and renewal requirements established by the organization issuing the credential. Completing the CCS course does not, by itself, guarantee that a professional certification will be awarded.
Who Should Attend?
This program is designed for:
Internal and external auditors
Fraud examiners and financial investigators
Compliance and ethics professionals
AML and financial crime professionals
Corporate security and intelligence personnel
Legal and regulatory professionals
Bank and financial institution personnel
Government investigators
Procurement and third-party risk professionals
Professionals preparing for Certified Compliance Specialist certification
Benefits of Attending
Participants will be better prepared to:
Build or strengthen an organizational compliance and ethics program.
Understand how compliance supports governance, risk management, and internal control.
Define responsibilities across the organization and reduce gaps in accountability.
Identify and prioritize significant regulatory and conduct risks.
Translate complex obligations into understandable policies and operating controls.
Design compliance processes that support business operations instead of obstructing them.
Improve employee training and awareness.
Establish reporting channels that employees are willing to use.
Evaluate whether compliance controls are operating effectively.
Conduct or oversee compliance reviews and investigations.
Recognize money laundering, fraud, corruption, and misconduct warning signs.
Respond appropriately to violations and whistleblower reports.
Develop corrective actions that address root causes instead of symptoms.
Provide boards and senior management with more useful compliance information.
Demonstrate a commitment to professional compliance competence.
Pursue the applicable Certified Compliance Specialist certification.
Strengthen your ability to design, manage, test, and improve an effective compliance and ethics program. Register for the Certified Compliance Specialist program to learn directly from international compliance and financial crime authority L. Burke Files, develop practical skills you can apply immediately, and pursue the applicable professional certification.

Certified Compliance Specialist

Name: Certified Compliance Specialist
Brand: Internal-Control
Price: 1640 USD
Availability: InStock

$1,640.00

In-person City & Date:

Primary Attendee: (optional)

0/20

Quantity

The sessions will be as follows:

Monday – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday - 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Offered in-person in various cites each month on Monday-Tuesday in two sessions.

NASBA Program Disclosure

Program Level of Understanding: Basic to Advanced

Prerequisites: None.

Advance Preparation: A number of documents will be provided in advance.

Delivery Format: On-site Training (Group-Live); Seminar (Seminar (Group Internet Based))

NASBA Field(s) of Study: Auditing

CPE Credits: 16, based on 50 minutes of instruction per hour
Examine the business, legal, regulatory, ethical, and governance reasons for maintaining an effective compliance program.

Understand the role of the board, audit committee, executive management, compliance officer, internal audit, and operating management.

Study the essential elements of an effective compliance and ethics program.

Distinguish compliance management from legal advice, internal auditing, risk management, and operational management.

Integrate compliance responsibilities into enterprise risk management and internal control.

Evaluate organizational culture, management philosophy, risk appetite, incentives, and conflicts of interest.

Develop a comprehensive inventory of applicable laws, regulations, standards, contracts, and internal policies.

Apply Federal Sentencing Guidelines principles to organizational compliance program design.

Use COSO components to organize compliance controls, risk assessments, information, communication, and monitoring.

Design practical policies, procedures, codes of conduct, and employee guidance.

Establish confidential and anonymous reporting channels.

Develop risk-based compliance training and communication.

Apply monitoring, auditing, control testing, and compliance assessment techniques.

Investigate suspected violations and develop corrective action plans.

Examine whistleblower response, anti-retaliation, and escalation procedures.

Understand anti-money laundering methods, warning signs, and program requirements.

Evaluate whether the compliance program is working in practice—not merely documented on paper.

Prepare meaningful compliance reports for management, boards, audit committees, and regulators.

Identify opportunities to reduce compliance costs while improving effectiveness.

Receive assistance with the applicable certification documentation.
Upon completing this program, participants should be able to:

Explain the legal, ethical, governance, and business purposes of an effective compliance program.

Define the compliance responsibilities of the board, management, compliance, legal, risk, and internal audit functions.

Evaluate how organizational culture, incentives, and risk appetite affect compliance.

Conduct risk-based compliance assessments and prioritize significant exposures.

Apply COSO principles to compliance program design, internal controls, and monitoring.

Develop practical policies, procedures, training, and confidential reporting mechanisms.

Establish processes for investigating misconduct, escalating concerns, and implementing corrective action.

Evaluate compliance controls for design and operating effectiveness.

Identify common money-laundering methods and essential AML program controls.

Prepare meaningful compliance reports and recommend cost-effective program improvements.
The Purpose of Compliance

Meeting legal, regulatory, contractual, and organizational obligations

Protecting reputation, stakeholders, and business continuity

Preventing misconduct, fraud, corruption, and regulatory violations

Integrating compliance with risk management and business strategy

Compliance Governance

Board, audit committee, and executive management responsibilities

Independence, authority, and access of the compliance function

Coordination among compliance, legal, risk management, internal audit, and operations

Appropriate staffing, expertise, technology, and resources

Organizational Culture and Ethics

Tone at the top and ethical leadership

Risk culture, appetite, incentives, and performance pressures

Conflicts of interest and codes of conduct

Accountability through employment and disciplinary practices

Elements of an Effective Compliance Program

Management oversight and written policies

Training, communication, and confidential reporting

Monitoring, auditing, enforcement, and discipline

Risk assessments, corrective action, and continuing improvement

Regulatory Obligations

Laws, regulations, contracts, and professional standards

Domestic and international requirements

Sarbanes-Oxley and Federal Sentencing Guidelines

False Claims Act and whistleblower protections

AML, anti-bribery, and anti-corruption requirements

Compliance Risk Assessment

Identifying and prioritizing internal and external risks

Assessing likelihood, impact, and residual exposure

Considering high-risk activities and previous violations

Linking risks to controls, training, and monitoring

Updating assessments as conditions change

Internal Control and COSO

Control environment and risk assessment

Control activities, information, and communication

Monitoring and reasonable assurance

Preventive, detective, manual, and automated controls

Control ownership, documentation, and testing

Policies, Procedures and Codes

Translating obligations into operating requirements

Developing practical and enforceable policies

Assigning ownership and communicating expectations

Updating policies as risks and requirements change

Connecting policies with training, monitoring, and discipline

Compliance Training and Communication

Identifying audiences and developing role-based training

Selecting appropriate delivery methods

Measuring completion, comprehension, and effectiveness

Avoiding check-the-box training

Documenting and reinforcing employee learning

Whistleblowing and Internal Reporting

Confidential and anonymous reporting channels

Protection from retaliation

Intake, documentation, triage, and escalation

Professional response and confidentiality

Reporting significant concerns to management and the board

Monitoring and Compliance Auditing

Ongoing monitoring and risk-based reviews

Testing compliance and control effectiveness

Using thresholds, metrics, dashboards, and exception reports

Documenting results and preserving evidence

Escalating significant control failures

Investigations and Corrective Action

Investigation protocols and evidence preservation

Independence, objectivity, and root-cause analysis

Consistent discipline and remediation

Revising policies, controls, and training

Tracking corrective actions through completion

Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crime

Predicate crimes and the money-laundering process

Structuring, connected accounts, and wire transfers

High-risk businesses, intermediaries, and payment systems

AML risk assessments, policies, and controls

Compliance leadership, training, and independent testing

Compliance Reporting

Management, board, audit committee, and regulatory reporting

Key risk and performance indicators

Violations, investigations, and corrective-action status

Training, hotline, and monitoring results

Emerging risks and information needed for effective oversight
The Certified Compliance Specialist program examines how organizations identify, manage, monitor, and report compliance obligations and risks.

Participants explore the consequences of noncompliance and the benefits of an effective program, including stronger governance, improved internal control, reduced losses, and greater stakeholder confidence. The course defines the responsibilities of the board, audit committee, management, compliance, legal, risk management, internal audit, and operating personnel.

The program covers policies, oversight, training, reporting systems, risk assessments, monitoring, investigations, enforcement, and corrective action. It also connects compliance program design with COSO principles and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations.

Additional topics include whistleblower systems, anti-money laundering, fraud, corruption, control testing, program metrics, and board reporting. The primary focus is determining whether a compliance program is properly designed, adequately supported, trusted by employees, and operating effectively.
L. Burke Files is an international financial investigator, compliance authority, author, and due-diligence expert with experience in more than 130 countries. His work includes financial crime, fraud, corruption, anti-money laundering, asset recovery, intellectual property, and complex investigations involving billions of dollars.

He heads Financial Examinations & Evaluations, Inc. and serves as President and Co-Founder of the International Due Diligence Organization. He previously worked in corporate finance, commodities, and international financial markets.

Mr. Files is the award-winning author of Due Diligence for the Financial Professional. His instruction is practical and based on real-world investigations. He will also assist participants with the applicable certification paperwork.

Certified Compliance Specialist

Details on Event Presentation

CPE Event Highlights

Learning Objectives

Key Issues on the Agenda

Summary of the Subject Matter

Distinguished Instructor