Risk Management has taken on a new impetus since the 2007 financial crisis. The global financial collapse proved that the old risk management and credit rating systems were faulty. They were based on assumptions about event probabilities that were inaccurate. Rather than crying over spilled milk, banks and credit rating agencies quickly began to make changes to their risk models. Regulators across the world demanded that the probability of long-tailed events be taken into account in a more realistic way.
This new world of risk management is not like the old. It is fast paced with decisions having to be made in real time. Gone are the days when you would make a month-end analysis of your portfolio and send it up the chain of command. Now, there is real time tracking of each risk metric. To succeed in this new risk environment, you need skills that match what the banks and other institutions are demanding. This is a list of courses and certifications that will help you do just that.
What to look for in a risk course/ certification?
- CV value/ personal brand building – If you are not focusing on personal brand building, you are doing it wrong. It is the most important factor in fast-tracking your career and it is what everyone else is focusing on. All your certifications and achievements need to boost your personals brand, enhance your CV and make your LinkedIn profile shine. I have hand picked only such courses in this list.
- Builds a solid risk foundation – This one might seem obvious but you would be surprised how many risk managers I have come across in my career who only go through the motions/ procedures without any inkling as to what they are there for. Risk management is an art form, it is a science, it is a philosophy. And you need to approach it with the right attitude to really make a name for yourself.
- Boosts your career – Risk is not just something that risk managers have to deal with. Almost every corporate role has an element of risk and everyone can benefit from better risk management. Use this opportunity to give that boost to your career.
1. Risk and Crisis Management from The London School of Economics and Political Science
Who is it for?
This is an executive level program meant for management, business heads, project heads, business owners, consultants, bankers, regulators and other decision makers.
Course Review
This is one of the best risk course for people at the mid or senior levels. This is not so much about the math and statistics but more about understanding risk and managing it using various tools and processes. Of course risk measurement is a part of it, but the focus is mostly on the organizational and managerial aspects. If you want a strategic overview of risk management, this will suit your needs.
LSE is obviously an excellent brand to have on your CV. If you want to switch to a risk role, this is an excellent jumping off point. But even if you are gunning for a general managerial or leadership role, you need to know about risk and crisis management and this course has you covered. Its a great personal branding opportunity as risk management is now pervasive across management roles.
Topic coverage is standard and expansive. Rather than listing all the chapters, I suggest you go ahead and downloads the prospectus and give it a read. However, there are some of super interesting topics that I would like to mention like what makes a “high reliability” organization, the inevitability of accidents, cross-border crisis management and so on. Even as someone with plenty of risk experience, I still found the course material interesting.
Click here and use code GS-AF-BBD15 for a 15% discount on this course!
Summary
| Duration | 8 weeks, about 6-8 hours a week |
| Format | Fully online, on-demand |
| Level | Executive |
2. Risk Management Professional Certificate from the New York Institute of Finance
Who is it for?
Recommended for analysts and associates in risk management or related fields.
Course Review
This is a practical course meaning you spend less time on theory and more time with case studies and building skills that you need to hit the ground running. The course is taught by Wall Street professionals so you can be sure that the focus is more on on-the-job skills and less on the academic minutia.
All the major financial asset classes and risks are covered. Risk reporting, tools and risk management is also covered well. All of that makes this a good starting point for most risk professionals. note that this is general risk management. If you are focused solely on credit risk, then this other article lists the best credit risk courses.
A good portion is dedicated to stress testing and regulations. As someone with a fair bit of credit risk experience, I can say that this is indeed something that you a lot of your time on as a risk professional.
NYIF is an excellent brand to have on your Resume. They have been training bankers and finance professionals for almost a century and their real world expertise is reflected in the quality of the content. This course will not only provide you a conceptual understanding but also strengthen your CV in a rather competitive field.
Summary
| Duration | 40 hours |
| Format | Fully online, on-demand |
| Level | Advanced |
3. Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA) from CFI
Who is it for?
Recommended for all risk roles as the course can be customized to suit any role due its modular nature.
Course Review
The CBCA is an incredibly versatile certification offered by the highly rated Corporate Finance Institute. It’s a solid brand building opportunity and upskilling opportunity for seasoned risk managers, but also a great starting point for those new to risk. This is because CFI allows you to take some optional prep courses if you need them. This includes topics like business structure, accounting fundamentals, finance produces and services etc.
What makes this certification so good is the ability to tailor it for your specific needs. Firstly, there are a bunch of core courses that every risk professional needs to undertake. This includes things like 5 C’s of credit, loan security and covenants, accounting monitoring and warning signs, assessing a business and management, building a financial model and so on. But there are also additional option courses that you can select based on your needs like commercial banking, loan pricing, syndicated lending, commercial mortgages or real estate fundamentals. You only need to pick the ones you really need.
CFI is a popular course provides and they already have 850K learners taking their courses. They provide quality content which will help directly by enchaining your understanding of risk, while also signalling that expertise to any potential recruiters via the certification. It should help you stand out form other candidates.
Click here and use code BBD10 for 10% off!
Summary
| Duration | 60-100 hours |
| Format | Fully online, on-demand |
| Level | Intermediate |
4. Financial Risk Manager Certification from GARP
Course Review
FRM has really grown in popularity over the last decade. The 2007 crisis boosted the demand for risk managers like nothing before it. The FRM is the gold-standard when it comes to Risk.
FRM is a very comprehensive certification. Its more quanty than the CFA and will take you several years to earn (especially since there is a minimum work-ex requirement).
That last point is my biggest issue with certifications like the CFA and FRM. You can’t get certified without meeting the work-ex requirement, and that sort of defeats the purpose of why you would want to be certified in the first place. You need the CV boost the most at the beginning of your career.
Summary
- Time to Complete: Several years (requires relevant work experience).
- Not available online or on-demand. Requires relevant work-ex to get certified.
- Check out our FRM prep resources here.
5. Business Risk Management from the University of Cape Town
Who is it for?
Recommended for business owners, risk managers, risk consultants and business managers in compliance, legal, business process teams.
Course Review
An expansive and thorough look into Business Risk management that comes highly recommended for managers and credit professionals alike. There is plenty of insights into risk, and its identification, management and mitigation.
There are ten modules in total covering one of the many risk aspects. What exactly is business risk, what are the frameworks for managing it, what is enterprise risk management, how to deal with uncertainty and black swan events, everything you need to know about quantitative decision making and more.
Risk management is essentially about identifying it, assessing it and responding to it. There is a module dedicated to each of these aspects. You will learn about macro and micro risks, categorize them, us risk rating matrix to determine their severity, look at qualitative and quantitative assessment techniques, build responses checklists, learn to determine risk tolerance and so on. There is plenty of great learning here and I highly suggest you download the course brochure to get an idea of what modern risk management is all about.
The last two modules focus on organizational culture, ethical issue, risk reporting and other related topics. These will be of particular interest to those in Compliance, Governance or other related fields.
Summary
| Duration | 10 weeks (with 7-10 hours per week) |
| Format | Fully online, on-demand |
| Level | Intermediate |
6. Financial Engineering and Risk Management from Columbia University
Who is it for?
Recommended for the brand value. Well suited for quant heavy risk roles.
Course Review
This is the most beginner friendly financial risk management course on this list. That is not to say that you won’t benefit form this course. The curriculum is equivalent to what you would be taught at an Ivy league MBA program, it’s just this course is more foundational.
Columbia University provides exception brand value to your CV and that is another great reason you should consider these two courses. Risk management roles attract a lot of candidates it can be challenging to even get shortlisted unless your CV really stands. You need every advantage you can get.
The course covers basic concepts and risk measurement, derivatives that are used for managing risks including credit derivatives and structured products like CDOs, MBSs, CDSs and so on. The course is exceptionally well presented and I highly recommend it to anyone just for building your core concepts and adding tremendous value to your CV.
The course is suitable for investment banking risk, forex and commodity risk, market risk, structuring and other related roles.
Preview/ Enroll Now – Part 1 Preview/ Enroll Now – Part 2
Summary
| Duration | 30 hours |
| Format | Fully online, on-demand |
| Level | Advanced |
7. Advanced Business Risk Management from the University of Cape Town
Who is it for?
Risk officers and other professionals dealing with core risk issues as part of their daily responsibilities.
Course Review
This is one of the more advanced courses designed for risk professionals rather than business generalists. This will suit you if you already work in risk or are well aware of the core risk principles and really just want to up your game and learn about the latest principles and concepts in risk management.
The course starts off by providing some context into issues like governance, ethics, reputational risk, risk objectives, internal controls, and so on. There is much to cover here and it lays a solid foundation to build upon.
Next we move on to information system risk. Cyber security is the biggest headache for CXOs today and its not something senior leadership can afford to ignore. Learn about information system risk terminology , vulnerabilities, analysis, response and everything else you need to know. I highly suggest you download the course brochure using the link below to get a better understanding of what exactly are the biggest topics when it comes to advanced risk management.
So far, we have only covered half the course! The latter half covers financial risk, risks emanating from overseas operations, investment risks, behavioural risks, risk awareness, monitoring and reviewing. Each of these topics are super expansive and are covered in great detail. This is just a very thorough and comprehensive risk course that should be taken by everyone in risk.
Click here and use code GS-AF-BBD15 for a 15% discount on this course!
Summary
| Duration | 8 weeks (with 12-15 hours per week) |
| Format | Fully online, on-demand |
| Level | Executives |
8. MS in Financial Risk Management
Course Review
Several universities offer full-time risk management programs. Many of these focus on business risks and enterprise risks but some are focused on financial risk management as well.
Most of these courses will come bundled with a lot of other subjects and topics like financial accounting, corporate finance etc. which makes such programs a decent option for finance newbies.
A formal academic program can restrict you to a specific filed so only go for these if you know for a fact that financial risk management is your jam. Maybe you have some years of risk management experience already under your belt and you already know this is what you want.
Summary
- Time to Complete: Several years
- These are not online courses but full-fledged graduate programs
9. Professional Risk Manager (PRM) Designation from PRMIA
Course Review
The PRM is another globally recognized risk certification. It focuses mainly on financial risk management principles related to market risk, credit risk and operational risk.
You need to clear four exams in a span of two years to earn the designation. Topics include ethics, risk management practices, financial theory and market instruments and the mathematical aspects of risk measurement.
PRM is a decent risk designation but the experience requirements are too high in my opinion. Which means you wont get the benefit when you need it the most – at the very beginning of your career.
Summary
- Time to Complete: Usually takes several years. Also requires minimum work experience of 2-4 years and academic qualifications. Please check the website for exact requirements.
- Not available online or on-demand.
- Requires an ongoing commitment to maintain the designation
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