When a company loses control — an unexpected risk materialises, unforeseen damage appears without warning, or a management team is suddenly left vacant — shareholders turn to the board of directors for answers and corrective action. But how do you know whether a director is actually doing the job well, and how should that performance be measured? This training course from the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy starts from that practical question before building outward into the fundamentals of corporate governance.

Participants examine how boards are structured, what a board’s priorities should be, and which international norms count as best practice, including what makes roles such as chairman, company secretary, and non-executive director effective in practice. The course closes with a summary of key learning points and action-planning exercises so delegates can apply what they’ve learned as soon as they return to work.

Who should attend?

• Non-executive directors who want to understand their role, and other board members refreshing their knowledge and skills.
• An organization’s president, director, company secretary, or other organizational leader.
• Business investment professionals, practitioners, managers, and executives of government-owned, public, voluntary, and non-profit organizations.
• In-house lawyers, regulatory and compliance professionals, and others who need to deal with good corporate governance.

How attendees will benefit?

After completion of the course, delegates will understand:

• The basic principles of corporate governance, including the role of the board of directors and how the board is structured and functions, including through board committees.
• The benefits of board diversity, including gender, ethnicity, and “functional” diversity, and the legal obligations of directors.
• How to recognize the characteristics of ineffective boards and how to run an effective one.
• The qualities and skills required for key board appointments such as chairman, company secretary, and non-executive director.
• How to implement performance measurement structures for individual directors and the board as a whole, and how to apply the knowledge gained through a personal action plan.

Module 1: Foundations of Corporate Governance

• Definition of corporate governance, corporate governance theory, and the corporate governance code.

Module 2: The Board’s Purpose, Risk, and Stakeholders

• Corporate purpose and strategy, and corporate risk.
• Corporate culture and ethics.
• Balancing the interests of shareholders and stakeholders, and interacting with stakeholders.

Module 3: Board Composition, Structure, and Employee Representation

• Board structure: unitary vs. dual board, and composition of the board of directors.
• Creating board diversity.
• Typical board configuration, reasons for inviting employee representatives, a model for employee representation, and the pros and cons of compulsory employee representation.

Module 4: What Makes a Board Director Effective

• Liability of directors and the skills board directors need.
• What makes an effective board, and board performance evaluation.

Module 5: Leadership Roles and Independence in Governance

• Role and skills of the board chairman and CEO.
• Roles and competencies of non-executive directors.
• The company secretary as the head of governance, the role of leaders, and the executive committee.

Module 6: Appointments, Succession, and Running the Board Day to Day

• Board appointments and succession planning.
• How to run an effective board of directors: meeting agendas, protocol, and schedules.

Module 7: Course Review and Action Planning

• Summary and recap of key learning objectives.
• Action planning.