Audit Committee Governance Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Audit Committee Members, Non-Executive Directors and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CG-067

Before you join: Participants should have experience in governance, finance, risk, internal audit, external audit, legal, compliance or board support.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Audit committees must give boards credible assurance that financial reporting, internal control, audit, risk and conduct matters receive informed, independent scrutiny. The work becomes difficult when management estimates are uncertain, auditors identify significant judgements, investigations arise, or cyber and sustainability disclosures reach the board. Committee members and senior advisers need more than a list of responsibilities: they need a disciplined way to set priorities, question evidence, document challenge and follow issues through to closure.

This five-day Audit Committee Governance Training Course examines the committee's mandate, composition, authority and relationship with the board, management, internal audit and external auditors. Participants assess financial reporting judgements under IFRS Accounting Standards, evaluate audit quality and auditor independence, monitor internal control through the COSO framework, and oversee fraud, whistleblowing, cyber risk and ESG reporting risks. The course also addresses annual workplans, meeting agendas, private auditor sessions, action tracking and committee effectiveness reviews.

Teaching combines focused technical briefings with realistic board-level cases from listed companies, banks, public bodies and multinational groups. Participants analyse committee papers, assess assurance evidence, frame challenge questions and make governance decisions under time constraints. They leave with practical templates for annual planning, financial reporting review, audit oversight, assurance mapping and committee self-assessment, plus a certificate of completion. The course is delivered instructor-led in classrooms in 50+ cities or live online.

What you will be able to do

  • Evaluate audit committee mandates, authority limits and member independence requirements
  • Interpret IFRS Accounting Standards judgements, estimates and going-concern assessments
  • Challenge management using evidence-based questions on financial reporting and controls
  • Assess external auditor independence, audit quality indicators and tender proposals
  • Oversee internal audit independence, risk-based planning and action closure
  • Use the COSO Internal Control framework to assess control deficiencies
  • Direct committee scrutiny of fraud, whistleblowing, cyber risk and ESG reporting
  • Design annual workplans, meeting agendas and committee effectiveness reviews

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Prepare for informed participation in audit committee meetings
  • Question financial reporting judgements with greater precision
  • Assess auditor independence and audit quality evidence
  • Recognise governance signals behind control failures and misconduct
  • Build a personal action plan for stronger committee contribution

For your organisation

  • Improves board oversight of reporting, controls and assurance
  • Strengthens challenge of significant estimates and disclosure decisions
  • Supports earlier escalation of fraud, conduct and control concerns
  • Improves auditor appointment, independence and performance monitoring
  • Creates more disciplined committee workplans, minutes and action follow-up

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define an audit committee mandate, authority boundaries and member responsibilities.

  • Board delegation, committee authority and reserved matters under governance charters
  • Audit committee mandate compared with board, management and internal audit
  • Independence, financial literacy and sector expertise in member appointments
  • Chair responsibilities for agendas, challenge, meeting dynamics and follow-through
  • Annual workplans aligned to reporting cycles, risks and assurance milestones
  • Terms of reference tested against applicable listing and governance requirements

Participants can recognise core duties and maintain records that demonstrate informed committee oversight.

  • OECD G20 Principles and local codes shaping committee accountability
  • Fiduciary duties, care standards and documented reliance on experts
  • Related-party transactions reviewed through approval thresholds and conflict registers
  • Regulator correspondence, inspection findings and remediation governance arrangements
  • Meeting minutes evidencing challenge, decisions, dissent and management commitments
  • Escalation protocols for suspected illegality, misconduct and material control failures

Participants can challenge significant financial reporting judgements, estimates and disclosures.

  • Financial reporting timetable mapped from close process to board approval
  • IFRS judgements assessed for revenue, impairment, provisions and going concern
  • Materiality analysed using quantitative benchmarks, qualitative factors and stakeholder sensitivity
  • Management estimates challenged through assumptions, back-testing and sensitivity analysis
  • Going-concern assessments tested against forecasts, covenant headroom and stress scenarios
  • Disclosure committee outputs reconciled with audit committee reporting responsibilities

Participants can oversee external auditor appointment, independence, performance and significant audit communications.

  • External auditor appointment, independence and fee approval decision criteria
  • ISA 260 communications interpreted for significant risks, judgements and deficiencies
  • Audit quality indicators assessed through staffing, scope, timing and partner involvement
  • Private auditor sessions structured to surface management pressure or restrictions
  • Non-audit services evaluated against independence safeguards and prohibited services
  • Tender processes scored using capability, sector knowledge, fees and transition risk

Participants can assess internal audit independence, plans, resources, findings and quality arrangements.

  • IIA Global Internal Audit Standards applied to functional independence
  • Risk-based audit plans assessed against enterprise risks and emerging exposures
  • Chief audit executive reporting lines, resources and unrestricted access
  • Internal audit findings tracked through ownership, due dates and validation
  • Quality assurance and improvement programmes reviewed for conformance evidence
  • Three Lines Model clarified across management, risk and internal audit

Participants can assess internal control weaknesses and identify gaps in assurance coverage.

  • COSO Internal Control framework used to evaluate control environment weaknesses
  • Enterprise risk appetite translated into committee monitoring thresholds and triggers
  • Control deficiencies classified by severity, root cause and compensating controls
  • Management action plans tested for ownership, milestones and evidence
  • Fraud risk assessments linked to incentives, opportunities and rationalisation
  • Assurance maps identify duplicated coverage, gaps and residual risk

Participants can oversee misconduct reporting, investigation governance and fraud risk response.

  • Fraud response governance defined from allegation intake through board reporting
  • Whistleblowing arrangements assessed for anonymity, retaliation protection and case oversight
  • Investigation scoping separates fact-finding, legal privilege and disciplinary decisions
  • Anti-bribery controls examined through third-party due diligence and payment testing
  • Data analytics flags unusual journals, duplicate payments and revenue anomalies
  • Culture indicators reviewed using survey results, turnover and speak-up data

Participants can frame audit committee oversight of cyber, data privacy and sustainability reporting risks.

  • Cyber-risk reporting connects crown-jewel assets, threat scenarios and control maturity
  • Incident oversight uses response playbooks, breach thresholds and recovery metrics
  • Data privacy governance tested through inventories, access controls and breach reporting
  • ESG reporting risks assessed for boundary, methodology and assurance evidence
  • Climate-related financial disclosures challenged for scenarios, assumptions and materiality
  • Third-party technology risk monitored through due diligence and service commitments

Participants can run focused committee meetings and communicate assurance conclusions to the board.

  • Risk-based agendas prioritise unresolved judgements, control failures and decision points
  • Pre-read packs designed with executive summaries, evidence and questions
  • Questioning techniques distinguish explanation, assurance, evidence and accountability
  • Executive sessions conducted separately with auditors, internal audit and management
  • Dashboard design combines leading indicators, exceptions, trends and overdue actions
  • Minutes record rationale, challenge, agreed actions and escalation requirements

Participants can assess committee effectiveness and plan targeted governance improvements.

  • Annual committee effectiveness reviews use questionnaires, interviews and observation
  • Skills matrices identify succession needs, independence risks and training priorities
  • Performance metrics track meeting quality, action closure and assurance coverage
  • Committee calendars sequence reporting, risk, audit and governance decisions
  • Personal action plans specify priority changes, sponsors and first milestones
  • Board reporting distils assurance conclusions, unresolved matters and requested decisions

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Audit committee annual workplan template
  2. Financial reporting challenge question bank
  3. External auditor independence assessment checklist
  4. Internal audit oversight dashboard
  5. Assurance map template
  6. Committee effectiveness review framework

Who should attend

  • Audit Committee Members — need structured methods for independent oversight and informed challenge
  • Non-Executive Directors — need to fulfil board and committee governance responsibilities
  • Board Chairs — need effective committee reporting, escalation and decision support
  • Chief Audit Executives — need to work productively with an independent audit committee
  • Chief Financial Officers — need to prepare clear evidence for committee scrutiny
  • Company Secretaries — need to support committee mandates, agendas, minutes and action tracking

Skills and tools covered

Audit committee oversightFinancial reporting challengeAudit quality assessmentInternal control evaluationAssurance mappingGovernance meeting design

Tools and standards

COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework, IIA Global Internal Audit Standards, ISA 260 Communication with Those Charged with Governance, IFRS Accounting Standards

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short technical briefings followed by board-level case work, facilitated group analysis, committee simulations and application planning. Participants review financial reporting papers, auditor communications, internal audit reports, risk dashboards and whistleblowing information. Cases draw on circumstances familiar to banks, listed companies, public bodies and multinational groups. Facilitators guide participants in framing challenge questions, assessing evidence, recording decisions and converting findings into practical committee actions. Time is reserved for reflection on participants' own committee arrangements and priorities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience in governance, finance, risk, internal audit, external audit, legal, compliance or board support. They should be familiar with basic financial statements and their organisation's board or committee structure. Prior audit committee service is useful but not required. The course assumes participants can read management reports and discuss business risks with senior colleagues. An accounting qualification, legal qualification, audit certification or detailed knowledge of a specific country's corporate governance code is not required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should understand basic financial statements and have some exposure to governance, audit, risk, finance, compliance or board support. Prior service on an audit committee and professional accounting or audit qualifications are not required.

Participants should bring their organisation's audit committee terms of reference, annual calendar or recent committee papers where confidentiality rules permit. These materials help participants compare course methods with their current arrangements.

The course is designed for current and prospective audit committee members, non-executive directors, board chairs and senior executives who support committee work. It is also relevant to chief audit executives, CFOs, risk leaders, compliance leaders and company secretaries.

Internal audit courses focus on conducting audit engagements, while financial reporting courses focus on preparing accounts. This course focuses on the audit committee's oversight role: challenging evidence, directing assurance priorities and reporting to the board.

Participants can use the workplan, challenge questions, auditor assessment checklist and assurance map at their next committee cycle. The course also supports practical improvements to agendas, pre-read packs, action tracking and private sessions.

Five training days run from 08:30 to 16:30, providing about 6.5 contact hours each day. The programme is organised into ten connected modules covering mandate, reporting, audit, controls, conduct, technology risks and committee effectiveness.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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