Financial crime compliance
FICA for Accountable Institutions
FPI SA
3 CPD points
4 modules
NOTE
We highly advise incorporating your organisation’s Risk Management and Compliance Programme (RMCP) into this course so that employees can connect FICA training to the procedures, risk indicators, escalation points, recordkeeping rules and reporting channels they must use in practice.
This course is the stronger fit for employees who are closer to client onboarding, transactions, risk, compliance, senior management or FICA-related decision-making. For non-operational employees who only need general awareness, FICA Awareness may be the more appropriate course.
Sector-specific versions are available where the training needs to reflect a particular accountable-institution environments.
overview
Why FICA training in South Africa matters
FICA training in South Africa helps employees of accountable institutions understand their responsibilities under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), including how to apply their organisation’s Risk Management and Compliance Programme (RMCP) in practice.
For accountable institutions, FICA training is not only general financial-crime awareness. Relevant employees need to understand how money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk connects to their roles, the organisation’s RMCP and the FICA controls they are expected to follow.
This course helps employees understand FICA responsibilities in the context of an accountable institution, including why the RMCP matters and how their role may connect to customer due diligence, suspicious activity, recordkeeping, reporting and escalation.
The course
FICA training linked to accountable institution duties
The course covers money laundering and terrorist financing risk, the purpose of FICA, the role of the Financial Intelligence Centre, and the risk-based approach expected from accountable institutions.
It also introduces the RMCP, FICA governance, customer due diligence, client identification and verification, client risk profiles, source-of-funds awareness, suspicious transactions, suspicious clients, recordkeeping, reporting obligations and the personal FICA responsibilities employees may have.
The course is built with different levels of detail. Everyone receives the core content, while Read more and For the legal mind layers allow more technical learners to go deeper without making the course too heavy for everyone else.
RMCP training
FICA training should not sit beside your RMCP. It should teach your employees how to use it.
RMCP-led training
Training that keeps pace with FICA
The FIC Act requires accountable institutions to provide ongoing training, which means FICA training should not be treated as a once-off exercise.
The right training cycle should be guided by the organisation’s RMCP, risk profile, employee roles, internal procedures, regulatory updates and changes to how FICA controls operate in the business.
ELLO’s Refresher Mode is useful where employees need to repeat this type of training regularly. It helps maintain a compliance training record without forcing employees through unnecessary repeat content in the same way each year.
The course is maintained and reviewed against FIC Act developments, FIC guidance and relevant supervisory guidance, including Prudential Authority material where applicable.
Give relevant employees FICA training linked to your RMCP.
Got questions? Start here.
Who is FICA for Accountable Institutions training for?
This course is for employees who need more than general FICA awareness because their roles are closer to client onboarding, transactions, risk, compliance, senior management or FICA‑related decision‑making in South African accountable institutions. It is designed for organisations that need employees to understand FICA responsibilities in practical context.
Is FICA training required for accountable institutions?
Yes. The FIC Act requires accountable institutions to provide ongoing training to employees so they can comply with the Act and the RMCP that applies to them. Failure to provide training is non‑compliance and may result in an administrative sanction, which means FICA training is a legal compliance requirement, not only a good‑practice measure.
The right FICA training South Africa programmes help accountable institutions demonstrate that this obligation is met in practice.
How often should FICA training be completed?
The Act refers to ongoing training rather than one fixed annual cycle, so there is no single prescribed frequency.
In practice, training frequency should be linked to the accountable institution’s RMCP, risk profile, employee roles, internal procedures, regulatory updates and changes to FICA-related processes. Refresher Mode can help maintain a training record without frustrating employees who need to repeat training regularly.
Is the course kept up to date with FIC guidance?
Yes. The course is maintained and reviewed against FIC Act developments, FIC guidance and relevant supervisory guidance, including Prudential Authority material where applicable. This matters because FICA compliance is shaped not only by the Act, but also by guidance, supervisory expectations, enforcement activity and changes in financial-crime risk.
Updates may include new FIC guidance notes, enforcement trends, sector risk assessments or supervisory communications that affect accountable institutions.
Why should the RMCP be included in the training?
The RMCP is the accountable institution’s bedrock FICA document. It sets out how the organisation identifies, assesses, monitors, mitigates and manages financial-crime risk. Including the RMCP in the course helps employees connect FICA principles to the actual procedures, escalation points, recordkeeping rules and reporting channels they must use. It also supports stronger audit trails when supervisors or internal assurance teams review how FICA controls operate in practice.
Does this course cover customer due diligence?
Yes. The course introduces customer due diligence, client identification and verification, risk profiling, understanding transactions, source‑of‑funds awareness and suspicious client or transaction indicators. The aim is to help employees recognise how CDD fits into the accountable institution’s FICA responsibilities and the RMCP they are expected to follow.
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