Effective Board Governance Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Current directors, Aspiring non-executive directors 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-063

Before you join: Participants should have experience working with senior leadership, governing bodies, board committees or major organisational decisions.

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 face increasing scrutiny over strategy, risk, culture, financial reporting, executive pay and stakeholder accountability. Directors must provide constructive challenge without taking over management, while ensuring the organisation has sound controls, credible information and clear decision rights. Weak board practice can lead to poor strategic choices, unmanaged conflicts, regulatory breaches, value destruction and loss of trust.

This course develops the knowledge and working methods required to contribute to an effective board. Participants examine the board’s legal and fiduciary responsibilities, the division of responsibilities between board, chair, chief executive and committees, and the practices that support high-quality decisions. They work with recognised governance references including the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, ISO 37000 and the COSO Internal Control Framework. The programme also covers board composition, succession, agenda design, board papers, risk oversight, audit, remuneration, culture, stakeholder reporting and board evaluation.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings, boardroom cases, document reviews, facilitated group work and governance simulations. Participants progressively build a board governance improvement dossier for an organisation or realistic case, beginning with a governance diagnostic and developing committee structures, annual work plans, information requirements and evaluation measures. The final capstone requires participants to review and present their complete board governance improvement plan. The course is delivered over 10 days in the classroom in 50+ cities or live online, with approximately 6.5 contact hours each day. Participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course suits current and aspiring directors, senior executives who report to boards, company secretaries, governance professionals, committee members and advisers responsible for board effectiveness.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess board effectiveness using a structured governance diagnostic
  • Define board, chair, chief executive and committee accountabilities
  • Design annual board and committee work plans
  • Evaluate board papers using decision-quality criteria
  • Apply COSO principles to board-level internal control oversight
  • Build a board risk oversight framework and reporting dashboard
  • Conduct a board evaluation using evidence-based assessment methods
  • Present a board governance improvement plan with implementation priorities

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence challenging management while preserving appropriate board boundaries
  • A practical method for reviewing board papers before meetings
  • Clear criteria for assessing whether committees have effective mandates
  • Stronger preparation for non-executive director and committee chair roles
  • A completed governance improvement dossier applicable to a current organisation

For your organisation

  • Clearer accountability between the board, chief executive and management team
  • Better board agendas focused on strategic decisions, risk and performance
  • More reliable escalation of control weaknesses and material risks
  • Improved committee mandates, reporting lines and annual work cycles
  • A prioritised plan for strengthening board effectiveness and governance discipline

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can define the board’s mandate and distinguish governance from management.

  • Board purpose expressed through stewardship, direction, oversight and accountability
  • Fiduciary duties, duty of care and duty of loyalty
  • Reserved matters schedule separating board authority from management authority
  • Delegations of authority linked to financial, operational and strategic decisions
  • Subsidiary governance arrangements for groups, joint ventures and controlled entities
  • G20/OECD Principles applied to board responsibilities and shareholder rights

Participants can map governance structures and identify gaps in accountability.

  • Governance operating model linking owners, board, committees and executives
  • Accountability mapping with RACI for key governance decisions
  • Board charter clauses covering authority, composition, meetings and evaluation
  • Constitutional documents, shareholder agreements and regulatory governance requirements
  • Three lines model roles in governance, risk and assurance
  • Escalation routes for decisions exceeding management delegated authority

Participants can establish clear working boundaries between key boardroom roles.

  • Chair responsibilities for agenda control, participation and constructive challenge
  • Chief executive accountability for execution, reporting and management leadership
  • Non-executive director contribution through independence, scrutiny and external perspective
  • Lead independent director role where chair independence is constrained
  • Role protocols for chair-chief executive relationship and information exchange
  • Managing blurred boundaries between strategic oversight and operational intervention

Participants can assess whether board composition supports the organisation’s strategic needs.

  • Board skills matrix aligned with strategy, risk profile and succession needs
  • Independence criteria, tenure considerations and material relationship assessments
  • Director recruitment specification based on capability, diversity and availability
  • Succession planning for directors, chairs and committee chairs
  • Induction plans covering business model, risks, stakeholders and governance documents
  • Director development plans informed by board and individual evaluations

Participants can structure board oversight of strategy without managing execution.

  • Strategy cycle linking purpose, strategic choices, resource allocation and review
  • Board challenge questions for assumptions, alternatives, trade-offs and execution risks
  • Scenario planning tests for downside cases, disruption and strategic resilience
  • Strategic dashboard combining milestones, leading indicators and outcome measures
  • Capital allocation decisions assessed through return, risk and strategic fit
  • Management strategy papers structured around decisions required from directors

Participants can build an annual board calendar aligned with governance obligations and strategic priorities.

  • Annual board calendar integrating strategy, budget, risk, reporting and evaluation
  • Meeting cadence matched to decision cycles and regulatory deadlines
  • Forward agenda planner distinguishing recurring oversight from major decisions
  • Consent agenda criteria for routine approvals and information items
  • Committee reporting timetable coordinated with full board decisions
  • Board calendar stress-testing against crises, transactions and succession events

Participants can improve board papers and meeting design for informed decisions.

  • Decision paper template stating recommendation, options, risks and required resolution
  • Executive summaries limited to material facts, choices and implications
  • Pre-read protocols setting deadlines, length limits and accountability
  • Agenda design allocating time by strategic importance and decision complexity
  • Decision log recording resolutions, owners, deadlines and follow-up evidence
  • Chair questioning techniques exposing assumptions, omissions and confirmation bias

Participants can support constructive challenge and disciplined decision-making in board meetings.

  • Meeting protocols for attendance, confidentiality, dissent and minute approval
  • Constructive challenge separates inquiry, testing, debate and final decision
  • Psychological safety balanced with accountability, candour and respectful dissent
  • Managing dominant voices, side conversations and premature consensus
  • Conflict of interest declarations recorded before relevant agenda discussions
  • Minutes capturing decisions, rationale, abstentions and agreed management actions

Participants can design committee mandates that strengthen, rather than duplicate, board oversight.

  • Committee terms of reference define purpose, authority, membership and reporting
  • Audit committee mandate for reporting, controls, audit and assurance
  • Risk committee scope aligned with enterprise risk appetite and exposures
  • Remuneration committee oversight of pay, incentives and performance conditions
  • Nomination committee responsibilities for appointments, succession and board composition
  • Committee effectiveness assessed through outputs, attendance and board reporting quality

Participants can question financial performance, liquidity and capital decisions at board level.

  • Income statement analysis linking revenue, margin, costs and operating performance
  • Balance sheet review of liquidity, debt, working capital and solvency
  • Cash flow forecasting identifies funding gaps and covenant pressure
  • Budget variance analysis separates timing differences from structural underperformance
  • Capital investment papers test assumptions, sensitivity and post-investment review
  • Going concern assessments examine forecasts, financing and material uncertainties

Participants can oversee enterprise risks through appetite, reporting and escalation mechanisms.

  • Risk appetite statement sets boundaries for strategic, financial and operational risks
  • Risk taxonomy groups principal risks into consistent reporting categories
  • Risk register fields capture causes, events, controls, owners and indicators
  • Heat maps supplemented by velocity, interconnectedness and control effectiveness
  • Key risk indicators trigger escalation before tolerance limits are breached
  • Board risk reports distinguish emerging risks from managed residual exposure

Participants can evaluate whether control and assurance arrangements provide reliable board assurance.

  • COSO Internal Control Framework applied to board oversight responsibilities
  • Control environment assessed through ethics, accountability and management conduct
  • Internal audit plans prioritised using risk-based assurance methodology
  • External auditor independence, scope, findings and management letter oversight
  • Assurance maps identify coverage gaps across principal organisational risks
  • Control deficiency reporting tracks remediation ownership, deadlines and validation

Participants can oversee organisational culture, conduct risks and ethical decision-making.

  • Board culture oversight links stated values, incentives and observed behaviour
  • Conduct risk indicators include complaints, turnover, breaches and speak-up reports
  • Whistleblowing arrangements protect reporters, preserve confidentiality and prevent retaliation
  • Code of conduct approval establishes expected behaviours and enforcement principles
  • Related-party transaction controls address conflicts, disclosure and independent approval
  • Ethical decision framework tests legality, stakeholders, values and long-term consequences

Participants can oversee executive reward and succession using transparent governance criteria.

  • Executive scorecards connect strategic objectives, financial outcomes and conduct measures
  • Remuneration principles address market positioning, affordability and performance alignment
  • Incentive design balances short-term targets with sustainable value creation
  • Malus and clawback provisions address misconduct, error and material failure
  • Chief executive succession plan identifies emergency, interim and planned scenarios
  • Performance evaluation separates board assessment from day-to-day management supervision

Participants can incorporate material stakeholder issues into board oversight and reporting.

  • Stakeholder mapping identifies affected groups, interests, influence and accountability channels
  • Materiality assessment prioritises environmental, social and governance reporting matters
  • Board oversight of sustainability targets, data quality and transition plans
  • Integrated reporting connects strategy, governance, performance and future prospects
  • Shareholder engagement protocols clarify board, chair and investor relations roles
  • Public interest considerations in government-owned and regulated organisations

Participants can organise board oversight during crises, investigations and major transactions.

  • Crisis governance protocol defines authority, communications and meeting escalation thresholds
  • Incident dashboards report safety, operational, financial and reputational impacts
  • Special committees manage conflicts during transactions or independent investigations
  • Board oversight of mergers considers valuation, due diligence and integration risks
  • Regulatory investigation response preserves evidence, privilege and reporting discipline
  • Post-incident review captures decisions, lessons, controls and accountability actions

Participants can plan and conduct a board evaluation that produces actionable improvement priorities.

  • Board evaluation framework covers composition, behaviours, processes and outcomes
  • Questionnaire design gathers evidence on meetings, information and constructive challenge
  • One-to-one director interviews identify sensitive issues and improvement themes
  • External evaluation triggers considered for significant change or persistent concerns
  • Evaluation report prioritises findings by governance risk, impact and feasibility
  • Improvement tracker assigns owners, milestones, evidence and board review dates

Participants can specify the records, workflows and advice that support sound board governance.

  • Company secretary role supports compliance, advice, records and board process
  • Board portal controls protect confidential papers, access rights and document versions
  • Minute-taking standards distinguish deliberation, resolution and management commitments
  • Statutory registers and filings maintained through governance compliance calendars
  • Director induction records document declarations, training and appointment approvals
  • Governance advice escalation identifies legal, regulatory and reputational implications

Participants can convert governance findings into a sequenced, accountable implementation programme.

  • Governance diagnostic scores current practices against agreed board effectiveness criteria
  • Gap analysis distinguishes immediate control failures from longer-term capability needs
  • Implementation roadmap sequences policy changes, approvals, communications and training
  • Change sponsorship assigns board champions, executive owners and secretariat support
  • Success measures track meeting quality, action closure and assurance confidence
  • Periodic governance reviews test whether improvements remain effective over time

Participants can build, review and present a complete board governance improvement plan for a selected organisation or case.

  • Governance diagnostic synthesises board mandate, structure, process and capability findings
  • Priority risks linked to specific governance failures and control responses
  • Board and committee calendar translates recommendations into annual oversight activity
  • Revised templates cover board papers, decision logs and committee reporting
  • Implementation roadmap specifies owners, milestones, dependencies and success measures
  • Board presentation defends recommendations through evidence, trade-offs and anticipated objections

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

What you take back to work

  1. Board governance diagnostic template
  2. Annual board and committee calendar
  3. Board paper and decision log templates
  4. Board skills matrix and succession plan
  5. Risk appetite and assurance reporting model
  6. Board governance improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Current directors — strengthen oversight, challenge and boardroom decision-making
  • Aspiring non-executive directors — prepare for formal board and committee responsibilities
  • Chairs and deputy chairs — improve meeting leadership and board performance
  • Chief executives — establish productive boundaries and reporting relationships with boards
  • Company secretaries and governance officers — design board processes, papers and annual cycles
  • Senior risk, finance and internal audit leaders — improve reporting to boards and committees

Skills and tools covered

Board role clarityStrategic oversightRisk governanceCommittee designBoard evaluationGovernance reporting

Tools and standards

G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, ISO 37000 Governance of Organizations, COSO Internal Control Framework, Three Lines Model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish governance concepts, followed by boardroom cases drawn from listed companies, banks, public bodies and mission-driven organisations. Participants review realistic board papers, challenge management proposals, interpret risk and assurance reports, and take part in chairing and committee simulations. Small-group work applies governance methods to a chosen organisation or case throughout the programme. Facilitated feedback links each activity to practical board conduct, governance documentation and implementation priorities.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working with senior leadership, governing bodies, board committees or major organisational decisions. Familiarity with basic financial statements, organisational strategy and risk concepts is helpful because cases use board papers, performance reports and assurance information. The course is suitable for executives moving into board-facing roles as well as current directors seeking a more disciplined approach. Prior board service, legal qualifications, company secretarial certification and detailed knowledge of any single national corporate governance code are 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 be familiar with organisational decision-making, management reporting or governance processes. Prior board membership is helpful but not required, and the course does not assume legal training or company secretarial certification.

Participants may bring a non-confidential board charter, committee terms of reference, annual calendar or governance issue from their organisation. Those without documents can work from the course case materials and templates.

It is designed for current and aspiring directors, chairs, chief executives, company secretaries and senior leaders who regularly prepare information for boards. It also suits risk, finance, audit and compliance leaders supporting board committees.

Compliance courses often focus on legal duties, codes and required disclosures. This programme includes those foundations but concentrates on how boards work: meeting quality, challenge, strategy, risk, information, committees and improvement planning.

Participants develop a governance diagnostic and implementation plan throughout the programme. They can use the resulting templates to improve board calendars, papers, committee mandates, risk reports and evaluation processes.

The first part establishes board roles, structures, meeting methods and core oversight responsibilities. The later modules address risk, controls, culture, remuneration, evaluation and implementation, ending with presentation of the capstone governance improvement plan.

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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