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What’s New at CFI: Risk Management Specialization

January 29, 2025 / 00:10:41 / E75

In this episode of What’s New at CFI, we sit down with Ryan Spendelow to discuss the newly launched Risk Management specialization. We explore the essential types of financial and non-financial risks covered in the courses, the relevance of emerging topics like ESG and cybersecurity, and how completing the specialization can enhance job performance and open up career opportunities in finance. Overall, the conversation highlights the growing importance of risk management in the financial sector and the skills needed to navigate this evolving landscape.



Transcript

Meeyeon (00:13)
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you might be joining us from. Today we have an episode of What’s New at CFI. I’m your host as always, Meeyeon I’m a VP of content and training here at CFI. And today, I’m joined by my lovely colleague, Ryan Spendelow, that you guys all know and love. Yay!

Ryan Spendelow (00:32)
Hi Meeyeon. How are you?

Meeyeon (00:36)
Excellent. As you can see, the sun is, I don’t know if it’s like rising. For me, it’s almost nine o’clock where I am, but it’s beautiful weather in Vancouver, has actually been really nice. We had a long streak. But today we’re talking about, as much as this nice weather is new, we’re talking about a new specialization that we have. We have a risk specialization.

Ryan Spendelow (00:50)
Oh, wicked.

Meeyeon (01:00)
And for those of you that might not know, specializations are where we really curate and focus on creating courses and putting them together in such a way that it really focuses on a career path. And one of the latest ones that we talk about that we get a lot of interest about is risk. And so today, Ryan, I have three key questions that I want to ask you. And it’s not meant to be like a grilling, but it’s just meant to be open up the topic. So I’m just going to get right into it.

Ryan Spendelow (01:22)
Okay.

Meeyeon (01:30)
So with risk management, it’s a fairly broad field. How do you think the specialization that we have will cover the essential types of financial risk and how are the courses structured such that they’re gonna build a really comprehensive understanding for our learners given that it’s such a broad field?

Ryan Spendelow (01:49)
Gosh, what a great first up question, Meeyeon. I can’t wait for the second two questions. So the specialization covers key categories of what we call financial and non-financial risk. So for a financial institution or a bank, a financial risk is a risk that directly impacts their balance sheet. So think credit risk, market risk. A non-financial risk is a risk that can still negatively impact the bank.

But it doesn’t necessarily directly impact changes on the balance sheet. So think things like operational risk or compliance risk. So those are two examples of non-financial risk. So this specialization covers key critical financial and non-financial risks faced by financial institutions. And so what this means is that the specialization starts with an introductory course, so an introduction to risk management.

For our CFI learners that are coming into this with no real background in risk management, it’s a great way to get that foundational knowledge and establish a really solid base. Then we have courses like market risk fundamentals, credit and counterparty risk, operational risk management in banks, and these really provide that foundational knowledge and insights that any person needs that’s looking to…

start a career or build a career in risk management. And then we start building some complexity. Then we have some specific topics like Basel 3 in risk management and historical bar for market risk. And we also cover contemporary areas of risk management like ESG risk and cybersecurity and red tape. So the specialization covers almost all the main risks faced by

global financial institutions. But not only that, throughout the specialization, we integrate really practical tools and frameworks that are used by these global financial institutions in their risk management processes, which means learners will be really able to apply the concepts directly in their risk management roles.

Meeyeon (04:03)
And you know what, you’ve already touched on this topic, but my second question was going to be, of course, keeping things up to speed, relevant and current, because as we’re always trying to do, how do you think the inclusion of emerging topics like ESG risk management, cybersecurity, and reg tech is going to make this specialization really relevant for finance professionals today?

Ryan Spendelow (04:27)
Yeah, that’s another great question, Leon. And it’s something that we’re particularly proud here at CFI about. And it helps differentiate this risk management specialization from others that are in the market. ESG and cybersecurity risks have become really top priorities for regulators and stakeholders in these global financial institutions. So ESG risk management teaches learners how to evaluate environmental, social,

and government risks, which are critical for sustainable investing and compliance. Cybersecurity and red tech fundamentals prepares learners to understand digital risks and regulatory technologies shaping the industry. this helps professionals adapt to regulations and some of our European-based learners will know about GDPR, the general, I think it’s general data protection regulation, data protection laws, and emerging…

So we’re just really excited that this specialization equips learners with skills beyond traditional financial risks like credit risk, counterparty risk, market risk. And what that does is that this specialization positions learners with a really well-rounded background in risk management, which prepares them for future challenges in the industry.

Meeyeon (05:51)
amazing. And then I have a final question and I’m gonna pose it to you and then I’m gonna pose it to myself as well. But for general people that are either working in finance, aspiring to work in finance, or always just kind of looking to learn more, how do think that completing this specialization and risk is gonna improve someone’s potential job performance or open up further opportunities?

Ryan Spendelow (06:18)
Gosh, another great question, Meeyeon. Well, by earning the risk management specialization, it will demonstrate to employees a comprehensive understanding of risk management, which ultimately makes learners attractive candidates for roles in things like risk analysts, compliance roles, financial strategy. Also, this specialization is very, very practical. So we have direct applications to concepts like value at risk or VaR.

We explore, in quite a lot of depth, Basel III compliance, operational risk mitigation, dealing with things like internal and external fraud, and cybersecurity risks, which is top of mind for risk managers and financial institutions. And all of this will just improve on the job performance for any current risk analysts. And there are other benefits as well. by completing the specialization, it will just build that confidence to engage in

risk strategy discussion. So if you work in a bank and let’s say that you are in compliance or if you’re in performance, by completing this specialization, you’re gonna be able to engage more confidently with your risk management colleagues. And that ultimately helps better decision-making within financial institutions. But it’ll also open up opportunities in specialized fields like ESG analysis, cybersecurity risk, and regulatory compliance.

Meeyeon (07:41)
And I’m going to piggyback off that last point. I remember, so when I was working in debt capital markets, one of my managing directors who, so amazing, one of the best people I’ve ever met to this day, Andrew Hainsworth, I’m going to send you this podcast, but he knows all sorts of topics under the sun. He knows everything from fashion to capital markets to investment banking and valuations. He’s so knowledgeable about everything.

Ryan Spendelow (07:56)
Big shout out.

Meeyeon (08:09)
But one thing I do remember was that he was actually very well-versed in risk. And the more senior you get in roles in finance, regardless of whether you’re looking for a career in risk or not, you have to have conversations about, for example, your desk and the risk that it poses to the firm. Or like the internal audit person or the risk person that has come by. You’re going to be, if you complete the specialization, you’re going to be able to demonstrate to your colleagues, your seniors, whatever,

that you have all of this knowledge that’s not directly related to your role, but does give you a much greater appreciation of the bank’s operations or a general financial institution. So this is really important knowledge to have, even if it’s not in a direct role, it can really demonstrate to your peers how knowledgeable you are about the framework of the industry.

Ryan Spendelow (09:01)
That’s an absolutely fantastic point to on, and I’m so glad that you mentioned that. And just to piggyback off that really, really good point, I’ve been involved in the last 15 years in delivering training in-house to global investment banks, asset managers around the globe.

And one area that I’ve seen over that timeframe that has increased headcount, and so I’ve seen training programs get bigger and bigger in terms of how many graduates and associates they’re hiring into those roles is risk management.

And before the global financial crisis back in 2008, it was very rare to have the chief risk officer sitting on the board of a global institution. Now, one of the first people that you get on the board of a global financial institution is the chief risk officer. So it’s that one area within the financial services industry, regardless of where you are, where it’s growing and there’s just more and more more opportunities for people looking to carve out a really exciting, important career in the industry.

Meeyeon (10:05)
and we couldn’t have a better note to finish our What’s New at CFI podcast on. And so, for this episode, I’ve been your host, Meeyeon this has been Ryan Spendelow, and we hope that you will take this new specialization and that you’re gonna enjoy it. But for now, we’re gonna say goodbye and we will see you next time.

Ryan Spendelow (10:28)
Bye everybody.

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