Operational risks in Custody

Over recent years, the investment fund industry has undergone significant transformation, driven by evolving financial markets, increasing regulatory expectations and growing investor scrutiny. This evolution has profoundly impacted fund accounting activities, reshaping the way fund accountants operate, organise their teams, manage risks, implement regulatory requirements and interact with other stakeholders across the investment fund value chain.

This transformation is largely driven by technological innovation, including the deployment of advanced accounting systems, automation tools and the increasing use of data analytics and artificial intelligence. These developments are redefining fund accounting operating models and introducing new opportunities, while at the same time increasing the complexity of operational risk management.

Our training is designed to help participants better understand and monitor the key risks inherent to fund accounting operations and processes. It provides a structured perspective on how risks may arise throughout the fund accounting lifecycle and why robust control frameworks are essential to support accurate, timely and reliable fund reporting.

By the end of this session, participants will gain a structured understanding of operational risk exposures within fund accounting activities, enabling a clearer view of their underlying drivers across people, processes, systems and external events.

This training introduces the key concepts of risk management as they apply to fund accounting activities, setting the scene across the main categories of risk faced by the investment fund industry.

It provides a focused perspective on operational risk, including its definition and underlying drivers within fund accounting operations. Particular attention is given to how operational risks may arise from processes, people, systems and external events, and how these dimensions interact throughout the fund accounting lifecycle.

The session also presents a structured view of Operational Risk Management (ORM), covering the main stages of the risk management cycle and the role of governance frameworks such as the three lines of defence model, while leaving room for deeper discussion and practical illustrations during the training.

This training is coordinated by Toufik Chaib, Partner and Julia Collura, Director at PwC Luxembourg.

• Toufik Chaïb is a partner leading the Trust and Transparency Solutions team at PwC Luxembourg, specialising in bridging operational and external stakeholder requirements with a focus on IT, including ISAE 3402/3000, SOC2, and other ISAE IT-based solutions. He leads PwC’s task force on controls and processes for Sustainable Finance and supports clients with ESG product distribution. Previously, Toufik was Head of the PwC Luxembourg desk in Hong Kong/China, serving as Market Leader for clients operating between Luxembourg and China. He also leads the AWM APAC team for PwC Luxembourg, advising financial institutions in Asia Pacific on European asset management strategies. His expertise covers Asset & Wealth Management, fund distribution strategy, risk assurance, regulatory compliance (UCITS & AIFMD), and audit matters, with notable clients including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, and others.
• Julia Collura is a director at PwC with 13 years of experience in the financial sector, specialising in business and Information Technology controls within the Asset Management industry, including Fund Administration, Management Companies, Depositary Bank, and Custody. She possesses deep knowledge of local regulatory requirements, risk and controls assessment, and security configurations, with expertise in controls reporting for standards such as ISAE 3402/3000 and SOC2 across various industries including Asset Management, Telecom, and Fintech. Julia has led significant projects, notably managing a full control framework implementation for a telecommunications company, and is skilled in IT audit, risk assessments, business process reviews, and AML/CTF reviews.