Description

A focused course, tailored for you

CPS 230 Implementation for Investment Banking Operations

Build the CPS 230 program APRA examines: risk taxonomy, tolerance statement, critical operations register, and board reporting.

The gap assessment shows amber across three control domains and a prudential review on the calendar. The controls exist. The governance structure that makes them defensible does not.

$199 one-time

Tailored to your situation. Access within 24 hours. 30-day money-back.

Includes a hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access, generated for your specific situation.

Why this course

Most investment bank operational risk programs have the policies. What they lack is the governance architecture underneath the policies: a risk taxonomy with ownership assigned at the domain level, a tolerance statement calibrated to the actual risk profile rather than written in general terms, and a critical operations register that maps each operation to its third-party dependencies with substitutability assessed. APRA examiners have become systematic about testing for these specific elements. A program that documents its framework thoroughly but cannot demonstrate functioning governance at this level will receive findings. The remediation path is not a new policy. It is a structured rebuild of the governance layer the examiner is looking for.

What you walk away with

Build a control domain model with ownership assigned at the granularity APRA requires, not at division level.
Write a risk tolerance statement with calibrated thresholds the board can adopt and the examiner can test against actual risk events.
Produce a critical operations register with third-party dependencies mapped and substitutability assessed for each critical function.
Design the board operational risk report that demonstrates meaningful oversight rather than a management summary.
Prepare the APRA prudential review evidence pack that maps each CPS 230 requirement to a program artefact.

The 12 modules

Module 1. What CPS 230 Actually Requires

CPS 230 moved operational risk management from a policy obligation to a governance program requirement. This module covers the standard's key provisions: the risk management framework obligation, the critical operations definition, the board accountability requirement, and the tolerance statement mandate. You complete a structured gap assessment tool that tests your current program against each provision and surfaces the governance gaps most commonly found in prudential reviews of investment banking entities.

Module 2. Building the Operational Risk Taxonomy

A functional taxonomy names every risk category relevant to investment banking operations, from front-office process failures to infrastructure dependencies and model risk events. This module builds the taxonomy from first principles, assigns ownership at the domain level rather than division level, and maps the taxonomy to your existing control environment. Includes the downloadable taxonomy template and an ownership assignment guide your entity can adopt directly.

Module 3. The Risk Tolerance Methodology

A tolerance statement must do three things: set a quantitative threshold the board can monitor, name the metric that triggers a tolerance breach review, and specify the escalation path when the threshold is approached. This module builds each element from the investment banking operational risk profile: settlement failures, conduct incidents, outsourcing disruptions, and model errors. Includes the tolerance statement template and the calibration methodology.

Module 4. Identifying Critical Operations

CPS 230 requires a judgment call about which operations, if disrupted, would materially affect customers, counterparties, or financial system stability. For investment banks, the shortlist typically includes settlement, custody, trade capture, collateral management, and core treasury functions. This module walks through the identification methodology and produces the documented assessment APRA examiners expect to see, with worked examples from each core function.

Module 5. Third-Party Dependency Mapping

Every critical operation has upstream dependencies. This module builds the dependency map from critical operation to third-party provider: service tier classification, substitutability assessment, concentration risk identification, and the contract review checklist CPS 230 requires. You produce a third-party register that links each provider to the critical operations it supports and documents the switching plan, formatted for APRA examination.

Module 6. Material Service Arrangements and APRA Notification

Not all third-party relationships qualify as material service arrangements under CPS 230. This module defines the materiality threshold for investment banking service arrangements, covers the APRA notification requirements for material arrangements, and builds the ongoing oversight program. Includes the notification letter template, the oversight framework document, and the annual attestation process for arrangements already in place at your entity.

Module 7. The Control Environment Assessment

APRA expects the control environment assessment to test whether named controls are actually operating, not just documented. This module covers the testing methodology: design effectiveness review, operating effectiveness testing, and the deficiency classification framework that determines what escalates to the board versus what stays in management reporting. Includes the assessment workbook and the deficiency register template your team can run each cycle.

Module 8. Operational Risk Incident Management

A CPS 230-compliant incident management process captures operational risk incidents at the threshold the tolerance statement defines, routes them to the right owner within the timeframe the framework specifies, triggers root cause analysis when required, and feeds learning back into the control environment. This module builds that end-to-end process for an investment bank and includes the incident classification guide and the escalation matrix.

Module 9. Scenario Analysis for Investment Banking Operations

CPS 230 requires scenario analysis to test the operational risk profile against plausible adverse events. For investment banks, the relevant scenarios include a major counterparty settlement failure, a critical system outage during peak trading, and a material outsourcing disruption. This module covers the scenario design methodology, the workshop facilitation guide, and the documentation pack that satisfies APRA evidence requirements for scenario testing.

Module 10. Board-Level Reporting Design

The board operational risk report must give directors the information they need to exercise meaningful oversight, not a summary of what management already decided. This module designs the report structure: risk profile against tolerance, control environment health, incident learnings, scenario testing results, and the CPS 230 compliance attestation. Includes the report template and a board briefing guide for the first presentation to the risk committee.

Module 11. Preparing the APRA Prudential Review Evidence Pack

APRA prudential reviews follow a structured evidence request process. This module prepares the response pack: the document index that maps each CPS 230 requirement to your program artefacts, the owner interview guide, and the issues management process for findings raised during the review. Includes a pre-review readiness checklist that surfaces gaps before the examiner does and the standard evidence request response format.

Module 12. Sustaining the Program

A CPS 230 program that passes the first review can degrade if the governance cadence slips. This module builds the annual program health check: the trigger events that require a framework review, the ownership refresh process when organisational changes occur, and the board attestation cycle that keeps the tolerance statement current. Includes the annual program calendar and a three-cycle program roadmap your risk function can own.

How this addresses your situation

Specific modules that map to what you said you are dealing with.

You have a CPS 230 gap assessment report but no clear path to close the governance gaps it identified. Modules 1 to 3 build the foundation: taxonomy, tolerance methodology, and the assessment approach.

You need to document critical operations for APRA but the business units cannot agree on what qualifies. Module 4 walks through the identification methodology and produces the documented judgment the examiner expects.

Your APRA prudential review is scheduled and you are not confident your evidence pack maps each CPS 230 requirement to a program artefact. Modules 11 and 12 build the response pack and the readiness checklist.

Your board operational risk report does not demonstrate the oversight standard CPS 230 requires. Module 10 redesigns the report structure from the examiner's perspective.

What you get with this course

12 text-based modules, each with a downloadable template or worked example
Operational risk taxonomy template with ownership assignment guide
Risk tolerance statement template with calibration methodology
Critical operations register with third-party dependency mapping workbook
APRA prudential review evidence pack index and readiness checklist
Board operational risk report template
Hand-built implementation playbook tailored to your entity's current program state

What you will have in hand by Day 1, Week 1, Month 1

Access to all 12 modules provisioned within 24 hours of purchase

Hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access

Downloadable templates and worked examples included for every module

Before and after

Before

Risk committee decks show amber ratings against CPS 230 requirements without a remediation path. The board cannot exercise meaningful oversight because the reporting does not show risk against a calibrated tolerance statement.

After

A complete CPS 230 program with a functional risk taxonomy, a board-adopted tolerance statement, a critical operations register mapped to third parties, and a board reporting pack that demonstrates ongoing compliance to the standard APRA examines against.

What happens if you do not address this

APRA examiners are testing the governance architecture underneath the policy framework, not just the policies themselves. An entity that cannot demonstrate named ownership at the control domain level, a functioning tolerance statement, and a mapped critical operations register will receive findings that require remediation under examination conditions rather than on the entity's own timeline.

Who it is for

Senior risk and compliance managers at APRA-regulated investment banks who are accountable for delivering an operational risk management program to the standard CPS 230 requires. Practitioners who already understand the standard and need the methodology to build the governance infrastructure that passes a prudential review, not an introduction to operational risk.

Who this is NOT for. Teams seeking a general introduction to operational risk management. This course assumes familiarity with the CPS 230 standard and focuses on the implementation methodology for the specific governance elements APRA tests for during a prudential review.

How it arrives

Text-based course in the Art of Service learning environment, plus downloadable templates and worked examples for every module, plus the hand-built implementation playbook delivered alongside course access.

Time investment. Approximately 2 to 3 weeks at 60 to 90 minutes per module, self-paced. Most practitioners complete the taxonomy, tolerance, and critical operations modules first, then use the remaining modules to build the APRA evidence pack.

Why $199 is the right number

A consulting engagement to rebuild the operational risk governance architecture at an investment banking entity typically costs $150,000 to $400,000 and delivers recommendations the internal team still needs to implement. This course builds the same governance infrastructure through the practitioner accountable for it, with templates ready to adapt rather than frameworks to interpret.

FAQ

How current is the content with APRA's expectations?

The course is built from the published CPS 230 standard and APRA's prudential practice guide, mapped to what examiners have been testing in prudential reviews of entities at the investment banking scale. The content reflects operational risk requirements as they apply to regulated entities in the current examination cycle.

How does the implementation playbook work?

The playbook is built for your entity once you enroll. It reviews the course frameworks against your current program structure and provides prioritised recommendations for closing the gaps your gap assessment identified. It is a working document, not a summary of the course.

Can the templates be used directly in an APRA evidence submission?

Yes. The templates are designed to produce APRA-ready outputs. The critical operations register template, the tolerance statement template, and the evidence pack index are formatted to support direct use in a prudential review response. Your team adapts them to your entity specifics; the structure is already examiner-ready.

30-day money-back guarantee. If after a week of working through the materials this is not what you needed, reply to the receipt email and a full refund is processed. No questions, no forms.

Within 24 hours your account in the learning environment is provisioned and the tailored implementation playbook is delivered alongside it.