Day 1 (morning) – Good governance practices
Richard Blain
Good governance practices
- Basic concepts
- Role of the board and directors
- An effective board of directors
- Best practices
- Board dynamics and performance
- Board and director evaluation
Day 1 (afternoon) – Strategy and risk management
Jean-Daniel Brisson
The importance of strategic planning
- Approach to strategic planning
- Strategic planning methodology
- Sample planning calendar
- The purpose of an internal analysis
- Example of a basic analysis grid
- Plotting your course: Mission and vision
- Allaire and Firsirotu’s model: Four market perspectives
- Basic strategic options
- Sample action plan
The role of the board member and strategy
- How the board’s role has changed over time
- Factors that affect the board’s degree of involvement in strategic planning
- Board members and strategy
- The “W” approach
- Common strategy errors
- Long-term vision, regular follow-up and dashboards
Risk and crisis management
- Understanding and measuring corporate risk management
- Role and responsibilities of directors in a crisis situation
- Effective prevention and management of internal conflicts
- Reaction mechanism
Day 2 (morning) – Integrity and legal/ethical considerations
André Vautour
Recap of key concepts
- Legal entity, act of incorporation and additional legislative and regulatory framework
- Board of directors
- Board members
Board member duties
- General duties, responsibilities and statutory presumptions
- Interpreting the duty of care
- Interpreting the duty of loyalty
Legal and ethical considerations: Board member responsibilities
- Potential liability and insurance
- Governance
- Ethics and integrity
Meeting management and board dynamics
- How to streamline board discussions
- Members’ roles and responsibilities
- Confidentiality of board discussions
- Consensus in decision-making
- Use of in camera sessions
- Seeking out external experts
Day 2 (afternoon) – Chairing boards and committees
Johanne Brunet
Chairing boards
- Role of chair: Importance, evolution, definition, selection, characteristics
- Key skill sets of a chair
- Role of chair vs. role of management
Optimizing board performance: The role of committees
- Purpose of committees
- Which committees does your board need?
- General board characteristics
- Accountability to the board
Day 3 (morning) - Financial considerations and financial reporting
Pascale Gaudreault
Role and responsibilities of the board in terms of financial reporting: Understanding the organization’s financial model
- Roles of board members
- Role of the audit committee
- Internal and external auditors
- Managers’ motivation: A source of risk
Creative accounting: Origins and consequences
- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
- Typical financial goals
- Creative accounting strategies
- Formulating accounting policy
- Accounting estimates
- Fraud
Creative accounting strategies and detection
- Structuring transactions for earnings-management purposes
- Detecting creative accounting
Day 3 (afternoon) – Key takeaways, topics for discussion and conclusion
Richard Blain
Board governance: Highlights
- Allaire and Firsirotu’s “value-creating governance®” model (IGOPP): Four pillars of governance
- 10 tips to remember
Topics for discussion: Governance challenges
- Discussion with participants about their governance concerns
- Discussion with participants about contemporary issues in governance
TRAINING APPROACH
- Introduction to a reference framework
- Hands-on workshops and case studies
- Interactive discussions
