Digital Corporate Governance Training Course

Duration 10 days 19 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Board directors, Chief risk officers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-CG-049

Before you join: Participants should have experience working with boards, executive committees, risk management, technology delivery, compliance, audit or transformation programmes.

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

Boards and senior leaders are expected to govern technology, cyber risk, data, artificial intelligence and digital business models with the same discipline applied to finance, strategy and compliance. Yet many governance arrangements still treat digital matters as isolated IT issues, producing weak board reporting, unclear accountability, unmanaged third-party exposure and delayed escalation of major incidents. This course addresses the practical governance structures, decision rights and assurance methods needed to close that gap.

Participants examine how boards oversee digital strategy, cyber resilience, data governance, AI use, technology investment and digital transformation. They use the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, COSO ERM, NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and ISO/IEC 27001 to connect digital risks and opportunities to board duties. The course develops capability in committee design, board information requirements, risk appetite setting, control assurance, incident oversight and stakeholder communication.

Teaching combines focused briefings, board-paper analysis, sector cases, governance simulations and structured application work. Cases reflect issues faced by banks, public bodies, multinationals, NGOs and regulated service providers, including ransomware incidents, failed transformation programmes, AI governance failures and supplier breaches. Participants build a board-ready digital corporate governance pack containing a governance model, risk register, dashboard, escalation protocol and assurance plan.

The course suits directors, executives, governance professionals and senior managers who must make or support decisions on digital oversight. It is particularly useful where an organisation is increasing its dependence on cloud services, data-driven operations, automation, connected products or artificial intelligence.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a board-level digital governance model with defined decision rights and accountabilities
  • Apply the G20/OECD Principles to digital strategy, technology oversight and stakeholder reporting
  • Set digital risk appetite statements and escalation thresholds using COSO ERM
  • Evaluate cyber governance arrangements against NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 functions
  • Construct a board dashboard for technology performance, cyber risk, data and AI oversight
  • Review data governance, privacy and information-security controls using ISO/IEC 27001 concepts
  • Prepare board papers for digital investments, major incidents and transformation decisions
  • Present a complete digital corporate governance pack for board review

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence challenging digital risk and technology proposals in board discussions
  • A practical method for turning technical reports into board decisions
  • Stronger capability to assess cyber, data and AI accountability gaps
  • A reusable structure for board-ready digital governance papers
  • Clearer credibility with directors, executives, auditors and technology leaders

For your organisation

  • Clearer accountability for digital strategy, data, cyber security and artificial intelligence
  • More useful board reporting on technology performance, risk and investment decisions
  • Earlier escalation of digital incidents, control failures and supplier exposures
  • Better alignment between enterprise risk management and technology governance
  • A documented governance pack supporting audit, regulatory review and board assurance

Course modules

19 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain how corporate governance duties apply to digital strategy, risk and organisational accountability.

  • Board fiduciary duties applied to technology, data and cyber decisions
  • G20/OECD Principles translated into digital oversight responsibilities and disclosures
  • Digital business models creating new dependencies, risks and stakeholder expectations
  • Management versus board responsibilities under a delegated authority framework
  • Three lines model roles for digital risk, control and assurance
  • Materiality criteria for escalating technology issues to board level

Participants can design decision rights and committee structures for effective digital oversight.

  • Board committee mandates for technology, risk, audit and remuneration
  • RACI matrices defining decisions, recommendations, approvals and accountability
  • Terms of reference for a technology or digital committee
  • Delegated authorities for investments, incidents, exceptions and supplier contracts
  • Director skills matrices identifying digital literacy and specialist expertise
  • Meeting calendars aligning digital decisions with board and committee cycles

Participants can assess whether digital strategy is governed through measurable value, risk and accountability criteria.

  • Strategic objectives linked to digital capabilities, operating models and investment
  • Benefits-realisation maps connecting initiatives to measurable business outcomes
  • Portfolio governance for transformation programmes, products and technology debt
  • Stage-gate reviews using business cases, risk assumptions and delivery evidence
  • Challenge questions for directors reviewing digital strategic proposals
  • Strategic alignment indicators for customer value, resilience and operating performance

Participants can review major technology investments using disciplined governance and value-assurance methods.

  • Investment cases separating mandatory spend, growth spend and technical debt
  • Total cost of ownership calculations for cloud, software and infrastructure
  • Sensitivity analysis testing cost, benefits, delivery and adoption assumptions
  • Post-investment reviews comparing approved benefits with realised outcomes
  • Capital allocation criteria for multi-year digital transformation portfolios
  • Board approval thresholds for acquisitions, platforms and major implementations

Participants can integrate digital risks into enterprise risk management and board risk appetite.

  • COSO ERM components applied to technology-enabled strategic and operational risks
  • Digital risk taxonomy covering cyber, data, resilience, suppliers and AI
  • Risk appetite statements specifying tolerances, limits and escalation triggers
  • Inherent and residual risk assessments supported by control effectiveness ratings
  • Risk velocity analysis for rapidly developing digital threat scenarios
  • Board risk registers linking owners, controls, indicators and treatment plans

Participants can establish board oversight questions, reporting and assurance for cyber resilience.

  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 functions used for board oversight
  • Cyber risk scenarios connecting threat events to business service impacts
  • Key risk indicators for exposure, control gaps, incidents and recovery
  • Board challenge of vulnerability management, identity controls and security testing
  • Cyber insurance governance, exclusions, retention levels and claims evidence
  • Independent assurance sources including internal audit, testing and certifications

Participants can govern digital incidents through defined escalation, recovery and post-incident review arrangements.

  • Critical business services mapped to technology, people and third parties
  • Impact tolerances defining maximum disruption for important business services
  • Incident severity criteria triggering executive, board and regulator notification
  • Crisis governance roles during ransomware, outage and data breach events
  • Decision logs recording actions, authorities, assumptions and stakeholder communications
  • Lessons-learned reviews assigning remediation owners, deadlines and verification evidence

Participants can define board-level accountability for data quality, privacy, retention and responsible use.

  • Data ownership models assigning accountability to business data domains
  • Data classification schemes distinguishing public, internal, confidential and restricted information
  • Records retention schedules linked to legal, operational and audit requirements
  • Privacy impact assessments for new products, analytics and data sharing
  • Data quality metrics covering completeness, accuracy, timeliness and lineage
  • Board reporting on material data breaches, remediation and recurring control failures

Participants can use ISO/IEC 27001 concepts to review information-security governance and assurance evidence.

  • ISO/IEC 27001 leadership requirements and information-security policy governance
  • Statement of Applicability reviewed against material information-security risks
  • Control ownership mapped across business, technology and security functions
  • Management review inputs covering audit results, incidents and improvement actions
  • Risk treatment plans documenting accepted, reduced, transferred and avoided risks
  • Certification evidence interpreted without treating certification as complete assurance

Participants can establish governance controls for accountable, lawful and reliable AI use.

  • AI use-case inventory categorising purpose, owners, data and affected stakeholders
  • Risk classification based on impact, autonomy, sensitivity and decision consequences
  • Human oversight controls for consequential automated recommendations and decisions
  • Model documentation covering training data, limitations, testing and approvals
  • Bias testing evidence reviewed alongside accuracy, drift and performance measures
  • AI incident procedures for harmful outputs, misuse and model failure

Participants can govern digital supplier relationships through risk-based due diligence, contracts and monitoring.

  • Supplier criticality assessments based on service dependency and data exposure
  • Due diligence reviews covering security, resilience, financial health and subcontractors
  • Contract clauses for audit rights, breach notification and data return
  • Cloud shared-responsibility models assigned to provider and customer control owners
  • Service-level metrics tracking availability, recovery, support and remediation performance
  • Concentration risk analysis for common providers, regions and technology dependencies

Participants can assess digital decisions for fairness, transparency, stakeholder impact and reputational risk.

  • Stakeholder mapping for customers, employees, communities, investors and regulators
  • Ethical decision criteria covering fairness, explainability, consent and proportionality
  • Algorithmic transparency statements for automated services and customer decisions
  • Digital accessibility requirements incorporated into product governance and approvals
  • Whistleblowing channels for data misuse, surveillance and technology misconduct
  • Reputational risk scenarios tested through stakeholder communication planning

Participants can create concise board reporting that supports challenge, decisions and documented oversight.

  • Board dashboard architecture combining performance, risk, control and investment indicators
  • Key performance indicators for adoption, benefits, delivery and service reliability
  • Key risk indicators tied to appetite limits and escalation thresholds
  • Trend analysis distinguishing isolated incidents from persistent control deterioration
  • Exception reporting highlighting decisions required, accountable owners and deadlines
  • Board paper writing using purpose, recommendation, evidence and implications

Participants can plan assurance activities that give directors credible evidence on digital governance effectiveness.

  • Assurance maps aligning management controls, internal audit and external review
  • Risk-based audit plans prioritising material digital dependencies and control failures
  • Control design assessments testing ownership, frequency, evidence and escalation
  • Operating effectiveness tests sampling approvals, logs, reviews and remediation actions
  • Combined assurance reporting identifying gaps, duplication and unresolved findings
  • Audit committee reporting on digital control themes and management responses

Participants can govern transformation programmes through sponsorship, stage gates, controls and benefits accountability.

  • Programme governance structures defining sponsor, steering group and delivery accountabilities
  • Transformation charters documenting scope, outcomes, risks and decision authorities
  • Stage-gate criteria for discovery, design, build, deployment and closure
  • Change-control processes assessing scope, cost, timeline and risk consequences
  • Benefits owners accountable for adoption, process change and realised value
  • Independent programme assurance reporting delivery confidence and intervention recommendations

Participants can identify governance issues arising from digital due diligence, acquisition and systems integration.

  • Technology due diligence covering architecture, cyber exposure and technical debt
  • Data asset reviews assessing ownership, consent, quality and transfer restrictions
  • Integration governance for systems, identities, suppliers and security controls
  • Day-one risk controls protecting critical services, records and customer data
  • Synergy tracking separating validated savings from assumed technology benefits
  • Board reporting on integration milestones, risks and decision dependencies

Participants can organise digital governance evidence for regulatory scrutiny, disclosure and board records.

  • Governance records retaining decisions, challenges, approvals and dissenting views
  • Disclosure controls for material cyber incidents and technology-related risks
  • Regulatory engagement protocols assigning spokespersons, evidence owners and timelines
  • Legal hold procedures preserving digital records, communications and system evidence
  • Cross-border data governance addressing transfer restrictions and accountability requirements
  • Board minutes documenting rationale, information reviewed and follow-up actions

Participants can assess governance maturity and prioritise practical improvements against organisational risk.

  • Maturity assessment criteria for oversight, accountability, reporting and assurance
  • Gap analysis comparing current practices with target governance operating model
  • Prioritisation matrices scoring urgency, impact, feasibility and control dependency
  • Ninety-day action plans assigning owners, milestones and board reporting dates
  • Change adoption measures tracking policy use, decision quality and control adherence
  • Annual governance reviews refreshing mandates, risks, skills and assurance plans

Participants can build, review and present a complete board-ready digital corporate governance pack.

  • Governance model defining committees, decision rights, mandates and accountabilities
  • Digital risk register with appetite limits, controls and escalation thresholds
  • Board dashboard combining investment, cyber, data, AI and resilience indicators
  • Annual assurance plan identifying reviews, evidence sources and reporting routes
  • Incident escalation protocol specifying notifications, authorities and decision records
  • Board presentation defending priorities, recommendations, residual risks and next actions

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

What you take back to work

  1. Digital corporate governance operating model template
  2. Board digital risk appetite statement
  3. Technology and cyber board dashboard
  4. Digital incident escalation protocol
  5. Digital assurance map and annual plan
  6. Board-ready digital governance pack

Who should attend

  • Board directors — need informed oversight of digital strategy, cyber risk and AI use
  • Chief risk officers — need integrated digital risk appetite, reporting and assurance arrangements
  • Company secretaries — need governance structures and board information for digital matters
  • Chief information officers — need clear board engagement and accountable technology decision-making
  • Internal audit leaders — need criteria for reviewing digital controls and governance effectiveness
  • Transformation programme directors — need stronger sponsorship, controls and benefit accountability

Skills and tools covered

Digital board oversightTechnology risk governanceCyber resilience assuranceData governanceAI accountabilityBoard reporting

Tools and standards

G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, COSO Enterprise Risk Management, NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, ISO/IEC 27001

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish governance concepts, followed by board-paper reviews, facilitated case analysis, group exercises and governance simulations. Participants assess realistic digital decisions such as cloud migration approval, ransomware response, AI deployment and supplier failure. They apply named frameworks to their own organisational context throughout both weeks. Structured application planning converts findings into governance artefacts, while peer review tests whether reports, dashboards and escalation routes would support effective board challenge.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working with boards, executive committees, risk management, technology delivery, compliance, audit or transformation programmes. Familiarity with basic corporate governance concepts, board papers and organisational risk registers is helpful. Participants should be able to discuss their organisation's technology priorities, material digital risks and reporting arrangements. Technical coding, systems administration, cyber-security certification and legal qualification are not required. The course explains the governance implications of technical subjects without assuming specialist engineering knowledge.

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 need experience with governance, risk, technology, audit, compliance or transformation work. Technical engineering knowledge and cyber-security certification are not required.

Bring examples of your board structure, risk register, technology priorities or reporting format if organisational policy permits. Participants can also work from the course case materials.

It is designed for directors, senior executives, company secretaries, risk leaders, CIOs, audit leaders and transformation directors. It suits people who shape or support board decisions on digital matters.

This course focuses on board accountability, decision rights, assurance and reporting rather than technical system administration or security operations. Cyber security is covered as one governance responsibility among data, AI, investment, resilience and transformation.

Participants create governance artefacts that can be adapted for their own organisation, including a dashboard, risk appetite statement and escalation protocol. The final pack provides a structured basis for discussion with executives, committees or the board.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes governance foundations and builds working artefacts; the second week addresses specialist issues, assurance and the final board-pack presentation.

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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