Course aim
Every company should be headed by an effective board, which is collectively responsible for the long-term success of the company. There should be a clear division of responsibilities between the positions of Chair and Chief Executive, and a balance of executive and non-executive directors that make up the board.

The UK Corporate Governance Code is a guide for effective board practice. Its underlying principles of good corporate governance is accountability, transparency, probity and focus on the sustainable success of the organisation.

No individual can dominate the board’s decision making, and a careful balance of skills, experience, knowledge, and independence is required in order to discharge its duties correctly.

Who can attend
This course is aimed at aspirant and current directors, keen to develop their functional responsibilities or refresh their knowledge.

This course also features as part of the Director Development programme.

What to expect
This course looks at the director role, duties, legal responsibilities, and the organisation’s corporate governance. As a result of taking this course, you will be able to go back to the business with the confidence to be able to take on the challenges faced in and out of the boardroom.

Programme
This course will cover the following:

• Section 1 - Corporate governance
  • Corporate Governance – what is it?
  • Corporate Governance Codes, and their relevance to your business
  • Differences in governance, direction, management and ownership
  • Effective internal control
• Section 2 - The company’s legal environment
  • Features of a company
  • Disclosure of information and reporting requirements
  • The legal environment
• Section 3 - The director’s role
  • Directors’ duties
  • Types of directors and roles on the board
  • Appointment of directors
  • Induction and succession planning
  • Leadership
  • Personal effectiveness
• Section 4 - Board structure, operations and practice
  • Role and tasks of the board
  • Best practice principles
  • Delegation to management
  • Board cycle
  • Conducting board meetings
  • Board evaluation
• Section 5 - Strategic Risk Evaluation and Management
  • Principles of risk management
  • Risk assessment
  • Risk appetite
  • Risk reporting
• Section 6 - Stakeholder Management
  • The concept of stakeholder management
  • Stakeholder mapping
  • Effective Communications
  • Managing conflicts

Course objectives
Participation on this course will enable you to:

• Build and run a world class board
• Understand the key differences between governance, direction, management and ownership
• Explain the most important elements of internal control and risk management
• Understand the company’s legal and regulatory environment
• Differentiate between the role of Chair, Chief Executive and other board members
• Succession planning
• Understand directors’ collective responsibilities as a board
• Plan and execute a board evaluation
• Assess levels of risk
• Manage risk assessment
• Learn the principles if stakeholder management