Certified Professional - Product Control

Product control is a control function within an Investment Bank and is responsible for safeguarding the assets of the bank. Product controllers report the daily profit and loss (P&L) and provide explanation of the P&L for the trading desk, within the bank and to regulators. This shadow accounting ensures traders mark their books to fair value prices enabling better risk management for the investment bank.

 

Skill Board Professional certification in Product Control evaluates candidates for comprehensive knowledge of different asset classes, valuation of securities, P&L, balance sheet, and control frameworks and the skills to resolve complex business problems in operations and technology that enables investment banks to function smoothly. The assessment process includes evaluation of a candidate’s professional experience, an online remote proctored test and may include an interview with Skill Board Industry practice leaders.

 

Candidates can choose between two certification options:

 

  • Certified Business Operations Professional (CBOP) - Investment Banking Product Control certification is issued to candidates with 5+ years of career experience in investment banking business operations and successfully pass the assessment for the CBOP certification.

 

  • Certified Business Technology Professional (CBTP) - Investment Banking Product Control certification is issued to candidates with 5+ years of career experience in investment banking technology and successfully pass the assessment for the CBTP certification.
Share
Online verifiable
Digital credentials verifiable via credly.com
Easily Shareable
Directly share digital badge on LinkedIn or display on resume
Who should get certified
  • Business Analysts with 5+ years of experience working in investment banking, asset and wealth management, custody and asset servicing.
  • Developers and QAs with 5+ years of experience working on investment banking applications.
  • Business Operations Associates with 5+ years of experience working in investment banking, asset and wealth management, custody and asset servicing.
  • Investment banking professionals with 5+ years of experience who are exploring career opportunities in information technology.
Candidates are evaluated for
  • Understanding of buy-side and sell-side firms, market infrastructure providers and regulators.
  • Understanding of traditional asset classes, derivatives, OTC derivatives and alternative investments.
  • Understanding of risk management concepts, control functions and valuation controls.
  • Understanding of Greeks used in financial markets for pricing and modeling.
  • Understanding of product control operations.
Maintaining the certification
  • Certified Professionals are required to recertify after 5 years either by taking a recertification assessment or through continuing education credits.
  • Continuing education credits may be earned by taking industry certifications, participating in industry conferences including professional presentations and writing industry thought papers that get published on skillboard.org or other online forums.
Assessment weightage by Knowledge Area
DomainWeightage

Investment Asset Class & Trading Basics

Equities, Fixed Income, Money Markets, Foreign Exchange, Commodities, Derivatives, Trading Strategies and Position Management.

5-10%

Risk Management

Stress Testing, Creation and Analysis of Internal Control Frameworks, Risk Variance and Covariance Measurements, Simulation Techniques such as Historic and Monte Carlo Methods.

10-20%

Control Functions

Accounting Controls, Standards & Principles, US GAAP and IFRS, Financial Assets and Liabilities including Recognition & Derecognition, System Feeds, EOD Rates & P&L Estimates, Region Wise Adjustments, P&L Reconciliation, Preparation, Review and Signoff, Balance Sheet Reporting and Substantiation, Balance Sheet Variances - Analysis, Resolution and Reporting, Foreign Exchange Sell Down, Books Finalization, Intercompany Trades, Cross Border Transactions, Analysis & Review.

20-40%

Valuation Control

IPV, OMRC, Model Validation, Model Calibrations.

10-30%

Greeks

Greeks in Pricing & Risk Management, First-Order, Second-Order and Third-order Greeks, Greeks for Multi-Asset Options.

10-20%

Data Management and Product Control Operations

Data Sourcing, Cleansing, Transformation and Distribution, Business Types and Practices, Key Participants/Stakeholders, Regulatory Requirements, Evolving Landscapes.

5-10%

Investment Banking Technology (applicable to CBTP Certification)

Trading Booking Systems, Data Management, Pricing Applications, Modeling & Valuation Applications, GL Accounting & Reporting Applications, Reconciliation Systems.

10-20%