CAMS-Audit study guide
CAMS-Audit · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CAMS-Audit credential is aimed at anti-money-laundering professionals who audit or independently test an AML/CFT programme rather than run it. That means internal audit staff, compliance testing and quality-assurance teams, external consultants and regulators who need to judge whether a financial institution's controls actually work. The CAMS-Audit study guide has 6 sections and about 2,462 words.
01AML/CFT Program Governance and Risk Assessment
This domain tests whether you can evaluate the oversight structure sitting above an AML/CFT program and judge the quality of the risk assessment that drives everything downstream. The exam expects you to know who owns risk (the business, first line), who sets the framework (compliance, second line), and what internal audit as the third line may and may not do.
447 words, about 2 min02Audit Planning, Scoping, and Methodology
Audit planning, scoping and methodology tests whether you can build an engagement that is risk-based, defensible and reproducible. The exam probes your ability to define an audit universe, allocate scarce resources, write scope statements a reviewer can test against, and select methods - walkthroughs, sampling, data analytics - that actually support the opinion you issue.
438 words, about 2 min03Testing Internal Controls and Transaction Monitoring
This domain asks whether you can gather evidence that controls actually work, with particular weight on transaction monitoring. The exam expects you to distinguish design from operating effectiveness, to know the evidence hierarchy, and to audit the monitoring lifecycle from data ingestion through alert disposition.
383 words, about 2 min04Customer Due Diligence and Enhanced Due Diligence Auditing
This domain tests whether you can determine that customer files meet the required standard at onboarding and stay current afterwards. The exam focuses on the difference between evidence existing and evidence being adequate, and on sampling that reflects the institution's real risk distribution.
399 words, about 2 min05Suspicious Activity Reporting and Recordkeeping Audits
This domain tests whether you can audit the reporting pipeline end to end: from detection and decisioning through filing, narrative quality and retention. The exam rewards precision on timing rules and on the decisions not to file, which are the ones most often left untested.
396 words, about 2 min06Audit Reporting, Remediation, and Regulatory Expectations
This final domain tests whether your work converts into something an audit committee can act on and an examiner can rely on. The exam focuses on finding structure, rating discipline, issue validation and the escalation of repeat or overdue problems.
399 words, about 2 min