🏦 Part of our Banking & Financial Services Industry Training Series — browse all related courses →
About This Course
Corporate actions sit at the heart of securities operations, directly affecting portfolio valuations, investor entitlements, and regulatory reporting. Whether it is a dividend payment, a rights issue, a merger, or a bond redemption, every corporate event demands precise processing, timely notification, and accurate reconciliation. Errors in corporate action handling can result in financial loss, client dissatisfaction, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage — making operational excellence in this domain a critical business imperative.
This five-day training programme, developed by TrainingComplex, is designed to provide custody professionals, fund administrators, transfer agents, and operations staff with a comprehensive, end-to-end understanding of corporate actions. From the initial announcement through to final settlement and reconciliation, participants will learn how each event type is structured, communicated, processed, and validated within custodian and fund administration environments.
The programme goes beyond theory to address the practical challenges that operations teams encounter daily: managing elections on voluntary events, handling market claims and transformations, reconciling positions during complex restructurings, and working with market infrastructure providers such as CSDs and ICSDs. Participants will also explore the ISO 15022 and ISO 20022 messaging standards that underpin modern corporate action communications, along with the evolving regulatory landscape shaping operational requirements.
By the end of the course, delegates will return to their organisations with a structured framework for managing corporate actions efficiently, a toolkit of best-practice processes, and the confidence to handle even complex or non-standard events with accuracy and control.
Who Should Attend
- Custody operations analysts and officers
- Fund administration and NAV calculation professionals
- Transfer agents and registrar staff
- Securities settlement and reconciliation teams
- Compliance and risk officers within asset management firms
- Back-office and middle-office professionals in banks and broker-dealers
- Operations managers overseeing post-trade processing
- Audit and internal control staff reviewing securities operations
Learning Objectives
- Understand the full lifecycle of corporate actions from announcement to settlement and reconciliation
- Distinguish between mandatory, mandatory with choice, and voluntary corporate action event types and their operational implications
- Process equity corporate actions including dividends, bonus issues, rights issues, stock splits, and mergers and acquisitions
- Process fixed income corporate actions including coupon payments, bond redemptions, calls, puts, and conversions
- Apply ISO 15022 and ISO 20022 messaging standards to corporate action notification, instruction, and confirmation workflows
- Manage client elections and deadlines for voluntary events without incurring market claims or penalties
- Perform position reconciliation and entitlement calculations across custodian and fund administration systems
- Identify and mitigate operational risks associated with failed instructions, late notifications, and data quality issues
- Interpret the impact of corporate actions on NAV calculations and fund accounting records
- Apply regulatory and market practice standards from bodies including ESMA, DTCC, and the Global Corporate Actions Principles
Course Modules
Module 1: Foundations of Corporate Actions in Securities Markets
- Definition and economic purpose of corporate actions in capital markets
- Role of the issuer, registrar, custodian, and investor in the corporate action chain
- Key market infrastructure: CSDs, ICSDs, depositories, and nominee structures
- Corporate action lifecycle overview: announcement, record date, election, processing, and settlement
- Sources of corporate action data: official announcements, data vendors, and market notices
- Impact of corporate actions on securities pricing, liquidity, and portfolio composition
Module 2: Classification of Corporate Action Event Types
- Mandatory events: characteristics, examples, and processing obligations
- Mandatory with choice events: structure of options and default elections
- Voluntary events: investor decision rights, election windows, and lapsing provisions
- Reorganisation events versus income events and their operational treatment
- Market-specific event type conventions across major global markets
- Building an internal event classification taxonomy for operational consistency
Module 3: Equity Corporate Actions — Income Events
- Cash dividend processing: ex-date, record date, payment date, and withholding tax
- Stock dividend and scrip dividend mechanics and investor implications
- Dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs): election handling and share issuance processing
- Special dividends and return of capital: accounting and tax treatment differences
- Entitlement calculation: fractional shares, rounding conventions, and residual cash handling
- Failed settlement impact on dividend entitlements and market claim procedures
Module 4: Equity Corporate Actions — Reorganisation Events
- Stock splits and reverse splits: ratio application and position adjustment procedures
- Bonus issues and capitalisation issues: source of funds and entitlement mechanics
- Rights issues: nil-paid rights, subscription mechanics, and oversubscription handling
- Mergers and acquisitions: share exchange ratios, cash consideration, and mixed offers
- Spin-offs and demergers: position allocation across old and new securities
- Delisting and compulsory acquisition: position close-out procedures and residual entitlements
Module 5: Fixed Income Corporate Actions
- Coupon payments on fixed and floating rate bonds: accrued interest and payment processing
- Bond redemptions at maturity: principal repayment, accrued interest, and position closure
- Callable and puttable bond events: notice periods, election handling, and partial calls
- Convertible bond conversions: conversion ratio, dilution impact, and equity position creation
- Debt restructurings and distressed exchanges: haircut calculations and new instrument issuance
- Amortising securities and sinking fund redemptions: partial principal reduction processing
Module 6: ISO Messaging Standards for Corporate Actions
- Overview of ISO 15022 and ISO 20022 messaging frameworks and their adoption timeline
- Key SWIFT MT564 message structure: event details, options, and key dates
- MT565 election instruction message: mandatory fields, option codes, and validation
- MT566 confirmation message and MT568 narrative: usage and reconciliation role
- ISO 20022 seev message family: seev.031, seev.033, seev.036, and seev.038 equivalents
- Straight-through processing enablers: data quality, automation triggers, and exception flags
Module 7: Operational Workflows and Deadlines Management
- Building a corporate action processing timeline from market deadline to internal cutoff
- Client notification obligations: content, format, and regulatory timing requirements
- Election capture and instruction routing to sub-custodians and market infrastructure
- Deadline monitoring controls: escalation procedures and contingency instructions
- Handling late notifications and retrospective processing adjustments
- Service level agreements in custody: operational KPIs for corporate action processing
Module 8: Market Claims, Transformations, and Buyer Protection
- Market claims: definition, triggers, and obligations under settlement failure scenarios
- Calculating and raising claims for cash and securities entitlements
- Transformations: converting pending instructions when corporate actions alter the underlying security
- Buyer protection elections on mandatory with choice and voluntary events
- Handling disputes and resolution procedures between custodians and counterparties
- CSD and ICSD rules governing market claims: T2S, Euroclear, and DTC frameworks
Module 9: Corporate Actions and Fund Accounting — NAV Impact
- How corporate actions flow into fund accounting systems and general ledger entries
- Cash dividend accrual and income recognition in NAV calculations
- Adjusting unit/share prices for capital events: splits, bonus issues, and rights
- Fair value adjustments and pricing source updates following reorganisation events
- Reconciling corporate action proceeds between custody records and fund books
- Reporting corporate action income and capital adjustments to investors and regulators
Module 10: Risk, Controls, and Best Practice in Corporate Action Operations
- Key operational risks in corporate action processing: data errors, missed deadlines, and system failures
- Designing a corporate action risk and control framework aligned to COSO principles
- Four-eyes controls, system access segregation, and authorisation matrices
- Global Corporate Actions Principles and ISITC best practice guidelines
- Regulatory obligations: ESMA guidelines, MiFID II transparency requirements, and local market rules
- Building a continuous improvement culture: post-event review, root cause analysis, and process refinement
Requirements & Prerequisites
Participants should have at least one year of experience working in securities operations, custody, fund administration, or a related financial services role. A basic understanding of financial instruments such as equities, bonds, and funds is assumed. Prior exposure to post-trade processes such as settlement or reconciliation is helpful but not mandatory for attendance.
Training Methodology
- Annotated event lifecycle walkthroughs tracing each corporate action type from announcement through to entitlement payment and reconciliation
- Hands-on entitlement calculation exercises using realistic position data, ratio tables, and corporate action terms
- ISO 15022 and ISO 20022 message dissection workshops where participants decode and map actual SWIFT message formats
- Case studies drawn from real-world corporate events including high-profile mergers, distressed bond restructurings, and contested rights issues
- Election management simulations requiring participants to manage client deadlines, instructions, and confirmation workflows under time pressure
- Reconciliation breakout sessions where teams identify and resolve deliberate discrepancies introduced into sample position and cash statements
- Group discussion panels examining regulatory updates and their operational impact on custody and fund administration firms
- NAV impact modelling exercises linking corporate action entries to fund accounting records and daily NAV calculations
Organisational Benefits
- Reduced financial exposure from processing errors, missed elections, and failed reconciliations
- Stronger internal controls and audit readiness across custody and fund administration operations
- Improved straight-through processing rates through better understanding of messaging standards and workflows
- Enhanced client service quality through accurate and timely entitlement processing
- Greater staff confidence and competence in handling complex and non-standard corporate events
- More consistent application of market best practices and regulatory requirements
- Reduced reliance on manual interventions and exception-handling through process discipline
- A skilled operations workforce capable of supporting business growth and new asset class coverage
Where Is Corporate Actions in Custody & Fund Administration Training Offered?
This course runs in-person across: Pretoria, Zanzibar, Nairobi, Kisumu, Arusha, Dubai, Abuja, Addis Ababa, Nakuru, Cape Town, Riyadh, Mombasa, Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, Naivasha, Accra, Kigali, Lagos, Kampala, plus Live Virtual (online) cohorts. Browse live dates for your city below.
Upcoming Schedules
| Location | Format | Dates | Price |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
24 Oct 2026 – 15 Nov 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Pretoria, South Africa |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 3,300 |
| Zanzibar, Tanzania |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,500 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 115,000 |
| Kisumu, Kenya |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Arusha, Tanzania |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,100 |
| Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 4,100 |
| Abuja, Nigeria |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,800 |
| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
USD 2,400 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
26 Oct 2026 – 30 Oct 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Nairobi, Kenya |
In-Person |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
KES 105,000 |
| Zanzibar, Tanzania |
In-Person |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
USD 2,500 |
| Nakuru, Kenya |
In-Person |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
KES 120,000 |
| Live Virtual |
Online |
2 Nov 2026 – 6 Nov 2026 |
KES 80,000 |
+227 more dates — view live schedule →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be a qualified accountant or finance professional to attend this course?
No formal accounting qualification is required. The course is designed for operations and administration professionals working in custody, fund administration, or securities services who have at least a basic familiarity with financial instruments and post-trade workflows.
Will I receive a certificate upon completing the course?
Yes. Delegates who attend and complete the full five-day programme will receive a TrainingComplex Certificate of Completion in Corporate Actions in Custody and Fund Administration, which can be used for professional development records and CPD portfolios.
Is this course relevant if my organisation operates in a single domestic market rather than globally?
Absolutely. While the course draws on global market practices and international standards such as ISO 15022 and ISO 20022, the core principles of corporate action processing, entitlement calculation, and risk control apply equally to domestic custody and fund administration operations.
How is the course structured across the five days?
The programme covers ten progressive modules, with approximately two modules addressed each day through a blend of instruction, case studies, and practical exercises. Each day builds on the previous, moving from foundational concepts through to advanced risk management and NAV impact topics.
Can this training be delivered in-house for our operations team?
Yes. TrainingComplex offers customised in-house delivery of this programme for organisations wishing to train teams of five or more staff. The content can be tailored to reflect your specific asset classes, systems, and operational workflows. Contact us for a bespoke proposal.
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