Newcomers to Canada: Part 3 - Certifications and Courses
Ian Messenger
“Certifications and Courses” is the third instalment of a 4-part series aimed at newcomers to Canada working in Financial Crime roles.
As a result of my own experiences as a newcomer to Canada, I designed and launched the Financial Crimes Prevention and Mitigation program through Seneca College [Link] to address both the “Canadian Experience” and certification hurdles.
In Part 2 of this series, I discussed the value of approaching contracting roles as an entry into the Canadian financial crime job market. Added to this, I introduced the role of Certifications and Courses as being “recommended” or “(strongly) preferred)…
… if you see those words in a job description, you should interpret them as “Required”. At least to get the interview. But I would argue that each of the below courses and certifications offer value to both your resume and your personal development, and are worthy of your consideration.
As an educator, it is no surprise that I value the idea of continuous professional development. Keeping your financial crime knowledge up to date and “relevant” cannot be understated. The financial crime space is constantly evolving as criminals adapt and exploit new and emerging technologies and products. To that end, Financial Crime professionals must keep up their own learning and development.
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) - offered through the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). This is self-described by ACAMS as the “gold standard”. In reality, this is the certification that most job descriptions list as “recommended”, “preferred”, or “strongly preferred” and, in my opinion, should be considered as the 1st certification to explore - but not necessarily the only one. As the name suggests, the certification is very AML focussed. Depending on your role, it may not be the only certification to consider. Especially given the increased fusion of AML and Fraud remits into current financial crime / compliance roles.
Certified Financial Crime Specialist (CFCS) - offered through the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (ACFCS). Straight up, this is my preferred financial crime certification as it covers a much wider range of financial crime topics (AML, Fraud, Sanctions, Cyber, etc) which are relevant to the modern financial crime professional. This is the certification I recommend for its content, but conscious that CAMS is the dominant certification listed in job descriptions (as above), to aspiring and existing financial crime professionals. This is the certification that I have chosen to link with Seneca Colleges’ Financial Crimes Prevention and Mitigation program.
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) - offered through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). This certification - as the name suggests - is predominately Fraud focussed. It is by far the most comprehensive certification on Fraud and covers an extensive range of Fraud typologies and schemes. I would recommend this certification as a compliment to CAMS or CFCS (or both). My only caveat is that the course is VERY USA-orientated and discusses many schemes which do not apply outside of the USA, but are tested on the exam.
Financial Crimes Prevention and Mitigation - offered by Seneca College in a hybrid in-class and online format over 16 weeks. This course covers the wide range of Financial Crime topics and is closely tied to the CFCS Certification. Disclaimer - this is my course! But I encourage you to review the course yourself. Fee; free to reach out with any questions.
Financial Crime Analysis - offered by Seneca College in an in-class format. This course focusses on analysis and investigation techniques relating to Financial Crime Compliance.
There are a number of niche courses offered by the Canadian Securities Institute and The Investment Funds Institute of Canada. Depending on your role, these may be of interest. The most popular for the generalist Financial Crime professional are the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) and the Canadian Investment Funds Course (CIFC)