Pension Fund Governance and Reporting Training Course

Participants can assess a pension fund governance framework against recognised governance principles.

• OECD G20 Principles applied to pension fund accountability arrangements
• IOPS Good Practices for pension fund governance and supervision
• Legal, regulatory, trust-deed and policy sources of authority
• Map statutory duties to board, committee and management responsibilities
• Governance documents hierarchy: charter, rules, policies, mandates and procedures
• Evidence trails supporting regulatory examinations and trustee assurance

Participants can design board arrangements that support informed, independent and accountable trustee decisions.

• Board composition criteria: independence, diversity, competence and member representation
• Skills matrices identifying trustee capability gaps and succession priorities
• Chair responsibilities for agenda discipline, challenge and decision quality
• Board evaluation methods: self-assessment, peer review and external review
• Induction plans covering fund rules, liabilities, investments and reporting
• Meeting calendars aligned with valuations, audits, reporting and investment reviews

Participants can establish committee mandates and delegation controls for pension fund operations.

• Reserved matters requiring full board approval and documented rationale
• Terms of reference for investment, audit, risk and benefits committees
• Delegation-of-authority matrices with financial limits and escalation thresholds
• RACI analysis for trustees, executives, administrators and external advisers
• Committee reporting routes, quorum rules and minute-taking requirements
• Review delegated decisions through exception reporting and periodic assurance

Participants can identify, disclose and manage ethical risks and conflicts affecting pension fund decisions.

• Conflict categories: actual, potential, perceived and situational interests
• Conflict registers recording interests, mitigations, recusals and review dates
• Gifts, hospitality and inducements policies for trustee and adviser relationships
• Related-party transactions assessed through independence and market-testing controls
• Whistleblowing arrangements protecting reporters and supporting impartial investigations
• Codes of conduct covering confidentiality, integrity and member-first behaviour

Participants can improve board culture and decision processes through structured challenge and documented judgement.

• Board culture indicators: openness, challenge, respect and accountability
• Cognitive bias controls for investment, funding and benefit decisions
• Pre-mortem analysis testing assumptions before significant trustee approvals
• Decision protocols distinguishing information, recommendation, approval and implementation
• Dissent recording when trustees hold material alternative positions
• Lessons-learned reviews following incidents, losses and major projects

Participants can build a pension fund risk and control framework using COSO principles.

• COSO Internal Control components applied to pension fund operations
• Risk appetite statements linking tolerances to member and funding outcomes
• Risk registers covering investment, funding, operational, conduct and cyber risks
• Inherent and residual risk scoring using likelihood-impact assessment
• Control matrices assigning owners, frequencies, evidence and testing methods
• Key risk indicators triggering management action and board escalation

Participants can govern outsourced pension services through mandates, controls and performance evidence.

• Service-provider due diligence covering capability, solvency, controls and conduct
• Administrator service-level agreements with measurable accuracy and timeliness standards
• Custodian oversight for asset safekeeping, settlement and reconciliation controls
• Actuary appointment criteria, independence safeguards and reporting expectations
• Vendor scorecards combining service performance, incidents and remediation progress
• Exit plans addressing data transfer, continuity and provider replacement

Participants can establish investment governance arrangements consistent with fund objectives and risk tolerance.

• Statement of investment principles defining objectives, constraints and governance
• Strategic asset allocation linked to liabilities, cash flows and risk capacity
• Investment beliefs documenting return expectations, diversification and active management views
• Mandate guidelines setting benchmarks, limits, derivatives and liquidity requirements
• Responsible investment policies addressing stewardship, climate and social factors
• Investment decision records documenting advice, challenge and approval conditions

Participants can evaluate investment manager performance, fees and mandate compliance for trustee reporting.

• Manager due diligence reviewing people, process, performance and ownership
• Performance attribution separating asset allocation, selection and implementation effects
• Benchmark design matching mandate objectives, risk limits and investment universe
• Fee analysis covering management fees, transaction costs and performance fees
• Compliance monitoring against mandate restrictions and investment policy limits
• Watchlist criteria and termination decisions supported by documented evidence

Participants can oversee actuarial assumptions, funding decisions and benefit-related risks with informed challenge.

• Actuarial valuation governance: scope, assumptions, methods and approvals
• Discount rates, longevity, inflation and salary-growth assumptions examined
• Funding policy linking contributions, deficits, recovery plans and covenant assessment
• Sponsor covenant monitoring for employer-supported defined benefit arrangements
• Benefit administration controls for eligibility, calculations and payment authorisation
• Actuarial report questions addressing sensitivity, uncertainty and member impacts

Participants can identify the principal financial reporting requirements and disclosures applicable to pension funds.

• IAS 26 scope, objectives and presentation requirements for benefit plans
• Net assets available for benefits and changes presentation
• Defined contribution reporting of contributions, expenses and investment returns
• Defined benefit reporting of actuarial present value disclosures
• Fair value measurement considerations for quoted and unquoted investments
• Accounting policy disclosures, judgement areas and reporting consistency

Participants can prepare reporting content that is accurate, material and understandable for pension fund stakeholders.

• Annual report architecture: governance, investments, financials, risks and member information
• Materiality assessment for disclosures affecting trustee and member decisions
• Plain-language member communications explaining benefits, charges and investment performance
• Narrative reporting aligned with financial statements and board-approved information
• Disclosure controls preventing inconsistent figures, claims and performance messages
• Accessibility and distribution controls for required member communications

Participants can design board reporting packs that support oversight, challenge and timely escalation.

• Board dashboards integrating funding, investment, administration and risk indicators
• Management information standards for accuracy, timeliness, completeness and comparability
• Traffic-light reporting supported by thresholds, trends and explanatory commentary
• Exception reports distinguishing breaches, incidents, root causes and corrective actions
• Executive summaries framing decisions, options, recommendations and requested approvals
• Board pack quality reviews using relevance, materiality and assurance criteria

Participants can plan assurance activities and use audit findings to strengthen governance and reporting controls.

• Three lines model for pension fund risk and assurance responsibilities
• Internal audit plans based on risk assessment and control maturity
• External audit scope, independence, materiality and governance communications
• Assurance mapping across financial reporting, administration, investments and cyber controls
• Audit finding registers tracking actions, owners, deadlines and validation evidence
• Control testing methods: walkthroughs, sampling, reperformance and document inspection

Participants can manage regulatory communications and escalate material pension fund incidents appropriately.

• Regulatory reporting calendars covering returns, notifications and statutory accounts
• Material incident criteria for data breaches, benefit errors and investment breaches
• Incident response plans assigning containment, investigation, communication and recovery actions
• Root-cause analysis using five whys and cause-and-effect diagrams
• Regulator correspondence supported by facts, remediation plans and accountable owners
• Post-incident reporting to trustees, members and service-provider oversight committees

Participants can establish data and recordkeeping controls that protect member information and decision evidence.

• Data ownership, classification and retention schedules for pension records
• Member data quality controls for identity, service history and contributions
• Cybersecurity oversight using incident metrics, access reviews and supplier assurance
• Privacy governance for consent, access requests and sensitive personal information
• Board recordkeeping standards for minutes, papers, approvals and conflicts
• Document version control preserving authoritative policies and reporting evidence

Participants can incorporate long-term sustainability and stewardship considerations into pension fund oversight.

• Climate-related financial risk considered within investment governance and reporting
• Stewardship policies defining voting, engagement, escalation and reporting expectations
• Environmental, social and governance data limitations and assurance considerations
• Long-term scenario analysis testing portfolio resilience under alternative assumptions
• Greenwashing controls for investment communications and manager sustainability claims
• Member preferences considered within fiduciary duties and investment constraints

Participants can prioritise governance improvements using gap analysis, ownership and implementation milestones.

• Governance gap analysis comparing current arrangements against defined requirements
• Priority scoring based on member impact, regulatory exposure and control weakness
• Improvement roadmaps with milestones, owners, dependencies and resource needs
• Change governance assigning sponsors, decision rights and reporting cadence
• Policy review cycles ensuring documents remain current and approved
• Success measures tracking remediation completion and governance effectiveness

Participants can analyse an integrated case and produce coordinated governance, risk and reporting responses.

• Trustee briefing materials identify governance, investment and reporting concerns
• Conflicts assessment determines disclosures, recusals and independent review requirements
• Risk-control analysis identifies failures in administration and provider oversight
• Investment report review tests mandate compliance, fees and performance explanations
• Annual report disclosures assessed against IAS 26 reporting requirements
• Remediation priorities sequenced through risk-based governance improvement planning

Participants can build, review and present a complete pension fund governance and reporting improvement pack.

• Governance charter defines purpose, fiduciary duties and accountability arrangements
• Board and committee structure assigns mandates, memberships and reporting routes
• Delegation schedule sets reserved matters, authority limits and escalation triggers
• Conflict register records interests, safeguards, recusals and periodic reviews
• Risk-control matrix links material risks, controls, evidence and assurance
• Reporting calendar schedules board packs, annual disclosures and regulatory returns
• Investment oversight dashboard presents performance, risk, fees and mandate compliance
• Capstone presentation defends recommendations against trustee and regulator challenge