FCCS vs. FCIS: Understanding the Difference
Why Choose the FCCS Certification
Built for Compliance - The FCCS is designed for professionals responsible for preventing financial crime through robust compliance frameworks, governance structures, and regulatory alignment—not post-incident investigation.
Comprehensive, Integrated Coverage of Financial Crime Risks - The certification unifies AML, terrorist financing, fraud, bribery and corruption, sanctions, governance, and risk management into a single, cohesive compliance framework, reflecting how regulators assess programs in practice.
Strong Emphasis on Ethics, Leadership, and Accountability - FCCS goes beyond technical rules to develop ethical judgment, leadership capability, and internal and external accountability - critical competencies for compliance officers, managers, and second-line functions.
Practical Program Design and Regulatory Readiness - Learners gain applied knowledge in KYC/CDD, suspicious transaction reporting, record-keeping, sanctions screening, risk assessments, and compliance program governance, enabling defensible and audit-ready compliance operations.
Governance and Oversight Focused – The certification reinforces the roles of boards, senior management, compliance committees, and internal audit, aligning financial crime compliance with modern governance expectations and the Three Lines of Defense.
Financial Crime Compliance Specialist (FCCS)
The Financial Crime Compliance Specialist (FCCS) certification is designed for professionals responsible for building, operating, and overseeing effective financial crime compliance programs. Rather than focusing on investigations after harm has occurred, the FCCS emphasizes prevention, governance, accountability, and regulatory alignment, reflecting the real-world expectations placed on compliance teams, senior management, and boards
Learners develop a working understanding of compliance program design, KYC and CDD requirements, suspicious transaction reporting, record-keeping, risk assessments, sanctions screening, and internal and external accountability mechanisms.
The FCCS places strong emphasis on ethics, leadership, and accountability, recognizing that effective compliance is not achieved through policies alone. The certification develops the professional judgment, ethical reasoning, and leadership capabilities required to influence organizational culture, support sound decision-making, and uphold integrity under pressure.
*The FCCS replaces the pre-2026 Canadian Financial Crime Professional (CFCP) certification
Financial Crime Investigation Specialist (FCIS)
The Financial Crime Investigation Specialist (FCIS) certification is designed for professionals who need more than high-level awareness or checklist-driven compliance training. It provides a deep, structured, and investigation-focused understanding of financial crime, reflecting how crimes actually occur, how they are concealed, and how they are uncovered in practice. Rather than treating financial crime as a series of disconnected risks, the FCIS presents it as an interconnected ecosystem, equipping learners to recognize patterns that span money laundering, fraud, corruption, sanctions evasion, cybercrime, and terrorist financing
Learners develop skills in financial analysis, digital and open-source intelligence, interviewing, forensic technology, and asset tracing - competencies that are directly applicable to investigations, regulatory inquiries, internal reviews, and enforcement actions.
The certification also reflects the modern reality of financial crime. It addresses emerging risks such as cyber-enabled crime, cryptocurrency misuse, trade-based laundering, and professional facilitation, while still grounding learners in foundational concepts and global regulatory expectations.
Why Choose the FCIS Certification
End-to-End Financial Crime Expertise – Build a comprehensive understanding of financial crime, from foundational concepts and global regulatory frameworks to advanced investigation methodologies and asset tracing.
Practical, Investigation-Focused Curriculum – Develop real-world investigative skills including evidence gathering, interviews, OSINT, forensic analytics, and “follow-the-money” techniques used by investigators and regulators.
Coverage of Modern & Emerging Threats – Gain deep insight into money laundering, fraud, corruption, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, cyber-enabled crime, and cryptocurrency-related risks.
Sector-Specific Risk Intelligence – Learn how financial crime manifests across high-risk sectors such as banking, fintech, public procurement, real estate, casinos, DNFBPs, charities, and digital asset ecosystems.
Designed for Serious Practitioners – Ideal for investigators, compliance professionals, auditors, regulators, and analysts seeking a structured, authoritative credential grounded in professional practice rather than theory