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Governance, Risk, Compliance & Legal

Control Design & Effectiveness Testing

A practical professional programme focused on control design & effectiveness testing, designed to strengthen governance, control, risk awareness and organisational decision-making.

Type
Specialist
Level
Advanced
Duration
5 days
Delivery
In person, Live online, In-house
Languages
English, Arabic

Control Design & Effectiveness Testing develops the practical capability to determine whether controls are appropriately designed and whether they operate consistently in practice.

The programme distinguishes design effectiveness from operating effectiveness and examines control objectives, risk linkage, evidence, testing methods, sampling, exceptions and remediation.

Participants learn how to evaluate controls systematically and document conclusions that can support management, risk and assurance decisions.

Objectives

  • Understand the distinction between control design and operating effectiveness.

  • Evaluate whether controls appropriately address identified risks.

  • Develop structured control-testing procedures.

  • Assess evidence and exceptions consistently.

  • Document conclusions and remediation requirements clearly.

Learning outcomes

  • Define clear control objectives.

  • Assess control design against identified risks.

  • Develop appropriate tests of operating effectiveness.

  • Evaluate control evidence and exceptions.

  • Prepare clear control-testing conclusions and remediation actions.

Who it is for

  • Internal control professionals.

  • Internal auditors.

  • Risk and compliance professionals.

  • Finance control professionals.

  • Managers responsible for control testing and assurance.

Programme modules

1. Control Design Principles
  • Control objectives

  • Risk-control linkage

  • Preventive and detective design

  • Key controls

2. Design Effectiveness Assessment
  • Control logic

  • Frequency

  • Ownership

  • Design gaps

3. Operating Effectiveness
  • Evidence of operation

  • Consistency

  • Control performance

  • Operating failures

4. Control Testing Methods
  • Inquiry

  • Inspection

  • Observation

  • Reperformance

5. Sampling and Exceptions
  • Sample selection

  • Testing periods

  • Exceptions

  • Assessing significance

6. Conclusions and Remediation
  • Testing conclusions

  • Control deficiencies

  • Root causes

  • Remediation plans

Methodology

The programme uses control descriptions, test scripts, evidence examples and exception scenarios. Participants practise assessing both design and operation and documenting defensible conclusions.

Assessment

Assessment includes control-design and effectiveness-testing exercises and a final applied case requiring participants to evaluate control evidence and develop conclusions and remediation actions.

Certificate

Certificate of Completion

For your organisation

This programme can be delivered for a single organisation, team or institution, and adapted to your context, participants and objectives.

Organisational delivery is scoped and priced individually, and is not booked from this page.

Discuss this programme

Upcoming sessions

No dates are scheduled at present.

Training & Professional Development

Structured professional learning that develops practical, role-relevant knowledge and capability.

Consulting & Advisory

Structured advisory support for strategy, governance, performance, transformation and organisational decision-making.

Discuss your challenge

Discuss your challenge