Description

A focused course, tailored for you

The Offshore Fund Audit Manager's ISAE 3402 Field Playbook

Run a Channel Islands fund admin audit cycle that closes on time, with the JFSC and GFSC requisition list mapped, sampled, and signed.

The fund administrator gave you a different requisition list this cycle, the JFSC dropped a new outsourcing expectation in March, and the partner wants the planning memo locked by the end of the week. The course gets you from that desk to a signed audit opinion on schedule.

$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

Audit Managers running offshore fund engagements in the Channel Islands do not lose time on technical accounting. They lose it on three things. First, every fund admin (the local administrators in Jersey, Guernsey, and the few cross-border players) ships a different requisition list, in a different format, with different evidence rules. Second, the JFSC and GFSC keep issuing outsourcing and substance expectations that change which controls a sub-administrator's ISAE 3402 report actually covers, which means the controls reliance memo has to be rewritten almost every cycle. Third, the seniors and assistants on the engagement need walkthrough scripts, sample sizes, and workpaper templates that match the local regulator's evidence standard, not the global the firm template that assumes a Big4 sub-service organisation. The course is the manager's field playbook for closing a fund audit cycle without the partner having to re-do the planning memo or the SR&I review in the last week. It is built for the manager who runs the engagement day to day, not the partner who signs.

What you walk away with

A locked planning memo that maps the fund admin's requisition list, line by line, to the ISAE 3402 controls reliance you actually need.
A workpaper template pack the seniors can pick up on Monday morning, with sample sizes and walkthrough scripts pre-filled for fund types you actually carry.
A controls reliance memo that survives JFSC and GFSC outsourcing notice changes without a full rewrite each cycle.
A partner-facing memo that converts a scope creep conversation into a fee conversation, with the evidence and the timeline laid out.
An SR&I-ready file index that flags the three or four judgement areas the reviewer will ask about, with the workpaper and the conclusion already cross-referenced.

The 12 modules

Module 1. The Channel Islands offshore fund audit cycle, end to end

Map the full cycle from engagement letter to signed opinion the way it actually runs in Jersey and Guernsey offices. The eight cycle gates, who owns each one, where the partner steps in, and the three points where the fund admin's behaviour can extend the cycle by a week. Includes a one-page cycle diagram you can paste into the planning memo for partner review.

Module 2. Reading the fund administrator's requisition list

Why every fund administrator on the islands sends a different requisition list, what each list is actually telling you about the administrator's control environment, and how to translate it into the ISAE 3402 controls reliance you signed off on. Includes the four-quadrant mapping sheet that turns a one-hundred-line requisition list into a controls reliance decision in an afternoon, not a week.

Module 3. JFSC and GFSC outsourcing expectations, audit translation

What the JFSC's outsourcing and substance expectations actually require you to test on a fund administrator engagement, where the GFSC differs, and what the regulator considers acceptable evidence. Walks through the most recent JFSC notice and how it changes the controls reliance memo. Includes the regulator-facing language for the final audit file when the regulator inspects the working papers.

Module 4. ISAE 3402 type II reliance: the controls matrix you can defend

How to build a controls reliance matrix that maps the sub-administrator's ISAE 3402 type II report to the fund audit assertions for valuation, existence, completeness, rights and obligations. Includes the gap-analysis workpaper that flags every control not covered by the report, with the suggested workaround audit procedure pre-written. Built for fund admin sub-services, not enterprise SaaS.

Module 5. Planning memo and risk assessment for the offshore fund engagement

The planning memo template a Channel Islands manager can lock in three days, not three weeks. Risk assessment grid for offshore funds with the standard inherent risk drivers (fund type, NAV strike frequency, valuation source, third-party administrator stability) pre-populated. Includes the partner walkthrough script for sign-off.

Module 6. Walkthroughs and tests of controls at the fund administrator

Walkthrough scripts and tests of controls written for the actual control activities at a Channel Islands fund administrator: NAV calculation, investor onboarding, valuation oversight, reconciliation, transfer agency. Includes the senior-facing version with sample sizes, the script the senior reads to the administrator, and the conclusion language that ties back to the controls reliance memo.

Module 7. Substantive testing for valuation, existence, and completeness

Substantive procedures for fund audit assertions sized to a manager's caseload: independent price testing, third-party confirmation, NAV recalculation, subsequent events review. Templates for level one, two, and three valuation testing with the documentation depth SR&I review expects. Worked examples for equity funds, debt funds, and fund-of-fund structures.

Module 8. Fund of funds and master-feeder structures

How the audit changes when the engagement is a fund of funds or a master-feeder structure with a Cayman or Delaware master. The reliance approach on the master fund auditor, the side-letter review, the look-through valuation testing, and the disclosure points the file needs to evidence. Includes the manager-to-master-auditor coordination template.

Module 9. Investor side: subscription, redemption, and AML evidence

The investor-side testing that JFSC and GFSC inspectors look at: AML and KYC evidence at subscription, redemption gate handling, side pocket disclosure, equalisation, and series accounting. Walks through the working papers the regulator typically requests on inspection and how to format the conclusion so the regulator does not need to read the underlying detail.

Module 10. Coaching the senior and the assistant through the cycle

The manager's coaching pack. How to set the senior up so they can run three weeks of testing without daily intervention. The Monday morning briefing template, the mid-cycle file review checklist, and the end-of-cycle conclusion review. Includes the three coaching conversations every senior needs during a fund audit cycle and the language to have them well.

Module 11. Partner sign-off, SR&I review, and the final file

How to package the file so the partner can sign in one sitting and SR&I review passes first time. The file index that puts judgement areas at the front, the partner memo that names the three or four conclusions the partner is being asked to take, and the SR&I cover sheet that pre-empts the reviewer's most common questions on offshore fund engagements.

Module 12. Scope creep, fee recovery, and the next-cycle planning conversation

The manager's conversation with the partner and the client at the end of the cycle. How to convert the scope creep that almost every Channel Islands fund audit experiences into a documented fee adjustment for the next engagement letter. The next-cycle planning memo that locks in efficiencies, the lessons learned file note, and the client-facing summary that lands well with the fund admin's COO.

How this addresses your situation

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

Monday morning: the fund administrator's requisition list arrived and three line items reference a JFSC notice you have not yet absorbed. Module 2 plus module 3 give you the translation in an afternoon.

Mid-cycle: the senior's walkthrough working papers come back and the conclusion language does not tie to the controls reliance memo. Module 6 plus module 10 give you the coaching conversation and the rework template.

Two weeks before sign-off: SR&I review is scheduled and the partner asks what the three judgement areas are. Module 11 gives you the file index and the partner memo in a morning.

End of cycle: the client asks for the next engagement letter and the partner wants a fee uplift conversation. Module 12 gives you the documented scope creep summary that converts the conversation.

What you get with this course

Twelve written modules covering the full Channel Islands offshore fund audit cycle.
Planning memo template, risk assessment grid, controls reliance matrix, walkthrough scripts, substantive testing templates, file index, partner memo, SR&I cover sheet.
Worked examples for equity funds, debt funds, fund of funds, and master-feeder structures.
The hand-built implementation playbook tailored to your specific fund mix and your office's SR&I review standard.
Thirty-day money-back guarantee.

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

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

Week one: planning memo template, risk assessment grid, requisition list translation sheet. The cycle gates are mapped to the office's calendar.

Week two: controls reliance matrix and walkthrough scripts in the seniors' hands. JFSC and GFSC outsourcing notice mapping locked.

Week three onward: substantive testing templates, file index, partner memo, SR&I cover sheet. The cycle closes on schedule.

Before and after

Before

Every cycle the manager re-reads the JFSC outsourcing notices, re-maps the fund administrator's requisition list against the controls reliance memo, and re-writes the planning memo from a global template that does not fit the Channel Islands engagement. The partner's review comments come back in week six with three judgement areas that should have been locked in week two. Scope creep absorbs the manager's evenings and the seniors run mid-cycle without the conclusion language they need.

After

The cycle opens with a locked planning memo by end of week one, the controls reliance memo already mapped to the latest JFSC and GFSC notices, walkthrough scripts in the seniors' hands by Monday morning of week two, and the partner-facing memo drafted by mid-cycle. SR&I review passes first time. Scope creep is documented as it happens and converted into a fee adjustment in the next engagement letter.

What happens if you do not address this

Without a manager-level field playbook, every offshore fund engagement in the Channel Islands re-litigates the same three problems: requisition list translation, JFSC outsourcing reliance, and SR&I review judgement areas. That is a week of senior manager time lost per engagement, partner review cycles that should be one pass running to three, and an SR&I review queue that keeps slipping. The cost is recovery rate on the engagement and the manager's promotion case the next time round.

Who it is for

A manager or senior manager in a Channel Islands audit practice running offshore fund, fund administrator, or fiduciary engagements. Sized for a manager with three to six seniors and assistants on the engagement, a partner who signs, and a fund admin client who has between fifteen and two hundred funds in scope. Works in the Jersey or Guernsey office, reports time to a global engagement code, and is responsible for the planning memo, the controls reliance assessment, the sampling judgement, and the file that goes into SR&I review.

Who this is NOT for. Not for partners signing opinions (the partner-facing memo is included, but the course is built around the manager's week). Not for sub-administrator personnel preparing the ISAE 3402 report itself (this course audits one, it does not write one). Not for fund managers running the underlying portfolio. Not for compliance officers at the regulator.

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. Roughly four to six hours of reading across the twelve modules, plus two to three hours configuring the templates for the office's current engagement portfolio. Best consumed across the planning week of the next cycle so the templates land in real working papers.

Why $199 is the right number

Most managers stitch together the global the firm audit methodology with the office's local working paper library and a folder of past planning memos. That works but it is brittle: every JFSC notice change forces a re-stitch. The course gives the manager one Channel Islands-shaped playbook that absorbs the regulator changes once and stays applicable across the office's fund admin clients. The alternative most often considered is doing nothing and absorbing the rework cost in the next cycle, which is what produces the SR&I review backlog every audit office complains about.

FAQ

Does this assume the global firm methodology, or does it replace it?

It sits on top. The global methodology stays the system of record for opinion form, materiality calculation, and quality review. The course gives you the Channel Islands-shaped templates and field procedures that make the methodology run on schedule in this specific engagement type.

How current is the JFSC and GFSC content?

Mapped to the most recent JFSC outsourcing and substance expectations and the GFSC's equivalent. The implementation playbook is hand-built when you enrol, so the regulator content matches what is current the week you start.

Will it work for fund administrator engagements as well as fund engagements?

Yes. The course is built around the fund audit but the controls reliance, walkthrough, and ISAE 3402 reading material apply directly to a fund administrator engagement where the firm is auditing the administrator itself.

What if the office uses a different working paper system?

The templates are in editable formats. The structure and the conclusions are what matter; the file format is a copy-paste away.

Is there partner involvement required?

The course is built for the manager. The partner-facing memo, the SR&I cover sheet, and the fee conversation summary are designed so the partner only sees the polished output, not the underlying work.

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.