Operational Resilience Audit: Ensuring Business Continuity In The Face Of Disruption

Introduction:

In today's interconnected and volatile world, organizations face a multitude of potential disruptions, from cyberattacks and natural disasters to supply chain disruptions and pandemics. This comprehensive training course on Operational Resilience Audit equips participants with the specialized knowledge and skills to evaluate an organization's ability to withstand and recover from such disruptions. Participants will learn how to assess resilience capabilities, identify vulnerabilities, conduct operational resilience audits, and provide valuable insights to enhance business continuity and minimize the impact of disruptive events. This course bridges the gap between risk management and business continuity, empowering participants to become champions of organizational resilience.

Target Audience:

This course is designed for professionals responsible for evaluating and improving operational resilience within their organizations, including:

• Internal Auditors
• IT Auditors
• Risk Managers
• Business Continuity Managers
• Operations Managers
• Compliance Officers
• Anyone involved in ensuring business continuity and resilience

Course Objectives:

Upon completion of this Operational Resilience Audit training course, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles of operational resilience and its importance.
• Identify and assess potential disruptions to business operations.
• Evaluate an organization's ability to withstand and recover from disruptions.
• Conduct operational resilience audits using industry best practices.
• Develop audit programs and procedures for resilience assessments.
• Assess the effectiveness of business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Evaluate the resilience of critical business processes and systems.
• Develop recommendations for improving operational resilience.
• Communicate operational resilience audit findings effectively to management.
• Collaborate with business units on resilience initiatives.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest operational resilience trends and best practices.
• Contribute to a stronger resilience culture within their organizations.
• Enhance their understanding of business continuity management.
• Become a more valuable and sought-after resilience professional.
• Understand how to audit third-party resilience.

DURATION

5 Days

COURSE CONTENT

Module 1: Introduction to Operational Resilience

• Defining operational resilience and its importance in today's business environment.
• The difference between operational resilience, business continuity, and disaster recovery.
• Key principles of operational resilience.
• The benefits of building a resilient organization.
• Understanding the interconnectedness of systems and processes.

Module 2: Identifying and Assessing Potential Disruptions

• Categorizing potential disruptions (e.g., cyberattacks, natural disasters, supply chain disruptions, pandemics).
• Conducting a business impact analysis (BIA) to identify critical business processes and systems.
• Assessing the likelihood and impact of different types of disruptions.
• Developing disruption scenarios for testing and planning.
• Understanding cascading disruptions and their impact.

Module 3: Evaluating Resilience Capabilities

• Assessing the organization's ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt, and restore from disruptions.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of existing business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Analyzing the resilience of critical infrastructure and technology.
• Assessing the resilience of the workforce and third-party relationships.
• Identifying vulnerabilities and gaps in resilience capabilities.

Module 4: Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning

• Developing and implementing business continuity plans (BCPs).
• Creating disaster recovery plans (DRPs) for critical systems and data.
• Testing and exercising BCPs and DRPs.
• Maintaining and updating BCPs and DRPs.
• Integrating BCPs and DRPs with other resilience initiatives.

Module 5: Technology Resilience

• Ensuring the resilience of IT infrastructure and applications.
• Cloud resilience and disaster recovery.
• Cybersecurity resilience and incident response.
• Data backup and recovery strategies.
• Testing and validating technology resilience.

Module 6: Third-Party Resilience

• Assessing the resilience of third-party vendors and suppliers.
• Integrating third-party resilience into the organization's overall resilience framework.
• Contractual considerations for third-party resilience.
• Monitoring third-party performance and resilience.
• Developing contingency plans for third-party disruptions.

Module 7: Human Factors and Organizational Culture

• The role of human factors in operational resilience.
• Building a culture of resilience within the organization.
• Training and communication on resilience policies and procedures.
• Employee well-being and support during disruptions.
• Leadership's role in fostering resilience.

Module 8: Conducting Operational Resilience Audits

• Developing an operational resilience audit program.
• Planning and executing resilience audits.
• Gathering and analyzing audit evidence.
• Documenting and reporting resilience audit findings.
• Following up on resilience audit recommendations.

Module 9: Emerging Trends and Best Practices in Operational Resilience

• The evolving landscape of operational resilience.
• Integrating operational resilience with other risk management frameworks.
• Using technology and data analytics for resilience monitoring and improvement.
• The role of scenario planning and simulation in resilience testing.
• Best practices for building a world-class operational resilience program.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org  Tel: +254 702 249 449

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Skills for Africa Training Institute Training Centre. We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, airport transfers, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Skills for Africa Training Institute certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org  Tel: +254 702 249 449

Terms of Payment: Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 5 working days before commencement of the training.