Diploma - Regulation, Compliance & Risk Management

On completion of this training programme, participants will be able to:

• Explain the rationale, theories and types of regulation from both an Irish and European perspective;
• Appraise the role of compliance within an organisation;
• Analyse the relationship between the risk management and compliance function;
• Examine the effect of the relevant regulation and the role of the various regulatory bodies on the operation of the compliance function within an organisation;
• Evaluate the various mechanisms for regulatory enforcement;
• Clarify the procedures relating to regulatory prosecutions and judicial review actions;
• Advise regulatory bodies with respect to their duties and obligations, powers and compliance;
• Judge the impact of both civil and criminal liability for breach of obligations; corporate compliance defence and up-to-date case law in relation to risk and compliance management failures;
• Apply their advocacy skills in relation to litigation matters and oral hearings.

Modules

The course is based on the following module scheme and covers key themes as listed below:

Module 1: Introduction

• What is regulation, compliance and risk – how do they differ and how do they overlap?,
• The function of regulation, its various forms and current issues,
• Regulatory practices in Ireland & EU,
• Role of the Ombudsman.

Module 2: The role of compliance

• The role of compliance and the Compliance Officer,
• Regulatory compliance,
• Evolving compliance landscape, sanctions compliance, anti-bribery and corruption, other compliance areas/risks,
• Compliance monitoring and the importance of ethics within the compliance function.

Module 3: Risk management

• Introduction to risk and the risk function,
• Where risk sits within an organisation and the relevant legislation,
• The role of the Chief Risk Officer (CRO),
• Embedding the risk management process.

Module 4: Advising on regulation issues

• Monitoring the regulatory environment for international organisations,
• What to do when a regulator calls,
• Sanctions,
• Whistleblowing,
• Advising on use of powers, delegation, and compliance,
• Data Protection and Freedom of Information.

Module 5: Practice and procedure at hearings

• Regulation of the professions and disciplinary hearings,
• Overview of professional disciplinary & ‘fitness to practice’ hearings,
• Practice and procedure at hearings,
• Interim suspensions.

Module 6: Enforcement

• Overview of phases in the regulatory cycle,
• Risk management/audits/compliance,
• Regulatory prosecutions,
• Decision making and considerations.

Module 7: Challenges to decisions of regulatory bodies

• Judicial review/appeals,
• Emergency applications and injunctions,
• Enforcement,
• Providing reasons.

Workshops

Workshops are designed to be interactive and involve working on selected case-study problems and analysis, with an emphasis on the application of scenarios encountered in practice. A practical skills workshop will provide advocacy training relevant to oral hearings and inquiries. The final workshop will cover pre-exam preparation.

Assessment

Continuous assessment (20%) and three-hour closed-book written examination (80%).