Certificate in Corporate Governance (CCG) Part 4 - Corporate Reporting

Goals of the Certificate in Corporate Governance (CCG) Programme:

The Certificate in Corporate Governance encompasses the core knowledge and awareness that is necessary to function effectively as a director and includes:

• An in-depth view of the role, responsibilities and legal duties of a director
• An understanding of the characteristics of an effective board
• Sound knowledge of financial terms and concepts
• The issues and processes associated with formulating strategic and business plans and achieving strategic leadership.

This is covered in a series of four courses and leads to the Certificate examination. The Certificate in Corporate Governance Programme has the following features:

• Certification based on assessment that contains a knowledge test.
• A core staff of qualified instructors. Many of the instructors will have attended a Training of Trainers Programme led by an International Finance Corporation Master Trainer.
• An advisory group consisting of both regional and international persons to guide the programme.
• The examination structure is based upon UK National Occupational Standards for Corporate Governance as our basis for us to accredit successful candidates.

In order to ensure high participation rates, reduce costs for participants, increase flexibility in dates and increase flexibility in educational choice, the participants can choose when to do the different components and then decide when to be certified.

Target Group

The course is designed to meet the development needs of existing, new and aspiring members of and advisors to Boards of Directors, including:

• Chairmen
• Executive Directors
• Non-Executive Directors (both newly appointed and experienced)
• Independent directors
• Company Secretaries
• Legal Counsels
• Consultants

The course is also designed to meet the development needs of senior managers who report to the Board or Board Committees or are members of the Executive Committee who are interested in expanding their knowledge and applied experience of boardroom activities, including:

• Executive committee members
• Vice Presidents
• General Managers
• Corporate Governance Executives
• Chief Risk Officers
• Internal Audit Officers

The course is relevant for directors and senior managers in:

• Multinational Companies (MNCs)
• Listed companies,
• Public Interest companies;
• State Owned Enterprises and Parastate Organisations;
• Unlisted and family companies;
• Not for Profit sector Organizations; and
• Partnerships

In addition professional executives with an interest in Corporate Governance may find the course to be relevant and useful e.g. media, judiciary, legal, accounting, finance and banking.

What will be covered?

• Financial stewardship and financial oversight
  
• The international and local accounting environment
  
• Financial statements and their relation to liquidity, profitability, and performance
  
• The consequences of inadequate financial information
  
• The reporting environment
  
• Narrative reporting
  
• The regulator’s role in enforcing reporting obligations
  
• Effective share-owner communications and investor relations
  
• Sources of corporate finance
  
• Capital gearing, dividend policy, and valuation
  
• Capital investment appraisal techniques
  
• Financial crisis indicators
  
• The control environment, board responsibilities, and internal controls
  
• The audit committee
  
• Whistle blowing, current oversight concerns, and regulatory developments
  

The workshop is highly interactive and includes presentations, tools, guides, case studies and simulations. 

Benefits of Participating:

• Demystifying the content of corporate annual reports
• Improving confidence and ability to develop questions to ask accountants and auditors concerning the financial performance of the organisation 
• Increased understanding of international accounting and auditing standards 
• Awareness of latest trends in governance reporting best practices to include coverage of integrated reporting and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 
• Recommendations for Improving internal controls 
• Knowledge of how to get the best out of the internal audit function 
• Knowledge to improve the effectiveness of audit committee members 
• Best practices for introducing whistleblowing procedures