Queen's Fundamentals of Governance Program

For Boards of Municipal, Provincial and Federal Agencies, and Not-For-Profit Organizations

Who Should Attend

Board members of every organization with a statutory or public interest mandate and for the senior executives who report directly to those Boards. Participants come from municipal, provincial and federal agencies, Not-for-Profit Organizations, Crown Corporations, government departments and oversight bodies.

Upcoming Sessions

Apr 6 to Apr 9, 2010
$4,100*
Nov 22 to Nov 25, 2010
$4,100*

*Fees do not include GST

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The Boards of municipal, provincial and federal agencies, Not-for-Profit Organizations, Crown Corporations and other organizations with statutory or public interest mandates face unique issues. This intensive, 4-day program will provide you with concepts, frameworks and techniques that will enable your Board to be more effective and increase the value of your personal contribution.

This program will allow you to:

  • Define the proper roles of Board members
  • Make better use of financial information
  • Identify and manage risks, and implement more effective control systems
  • Clarify the relationship between Boards and staff and focus on results rather than operational details
  • Transform your Board into a high-performance team

Our session-leaders present these concepts in a straight-forward and engaging format, making them easy to understand. This program is a particularly powerful experience when Board members and senior managers attend together.

Practical and relevant content delivered by exceptional speakers, and a commitment to unrivaled customer service, have made Queen's Fundaments of Governance Program one of North America's most popular strategy programs for managers and executives.

Program Content

The program leverages the educational power of multiple teaching tools, including class discussions, exchange of ideas and perspectives with faculty and fellow participants, one-on-one coaching, exercises, and the development of a self-directed action plan for improving personal effectiveness.

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1.888.393.2338

The Program is built around a four-step process:

1. Governance and the Role of the Board

Understanding current expectations of Boards and how the role of the Board has evolved over time.

  • The two major roles of the Board
  • The four hallmarks of an effective Board Chair
  • Barriers to effective governance, governance models and Board member responsibilities
  • The impact of governance scandals and how Boards and individual directors can influence organizations
  • The five ways management can support the Board

2. Board Accountability for Financial Reporting and Audit

Understanding key financial statements and the role of the auditor and the audit committee.

  • How better governance and accountability benefits organizations
  • The basics of accrual accounting and using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles to make and justify financial reporting decisions
  • Reading financial statements and interpreting financial patterns and trends
  • The roles and responsibilities of the audit committee and how audits add value to the organization

3. Risk Management and Boards

The role of the Board of Directors, key Board committees and top managers in risk management.

  • Define risk and how to measure and manage it
  • Examine environmental, political and strategic risks
  • Identify the four alternatives for effective risk management

4. The Board’s Responsibility for Control

Understanding the two leading control models and the tools needed to apply them in your organization.

  • Two models of control:
    • The COSO model – a model for control evaluation
    • The COCO model – a model for control improvement
  • The audit committee and control
  • Vision, mission, boundaries, diagnostic and interactive controls
  • Performance measurement and reward - the role of the compensation committee

Be a more effective and responsible contributor to your Board.

The concepts and tools taught in the Program will greatly enhance your strategic planning knowledge and skills

  • Enhance your understanding of issues and responsibilities relating to governance
  • Expand your financial acumen and understanding of risk management
  • Learn valuable governance concepts and frameworks
  • Increase your personal contribution to the Board and the broader organization
  • Develop the confidence and ability to ask the right questions
  • Network with a group of experienced peers from a variety of organizations

Enhancing the knowledge and skill sets of Board members will have a profoundly positive impact on the organization.

  • Implement proper governance within the organization
  • Make more informed decisions with a clear understanding of the associated financial risks
  • Learn how to transform the Board into a high-performance team that can fully utilize the talents and experiences of each member
  • Improve long-term planning and evaluate processes and results against the planned objectives
  • Create a more productive working relationship between the Board and senior management
  • Enhance the Board’s involvement in critical decision making
  • Bring back practical solutions to critical problems and proven strategies for dealing with contentious issues

Outstanding Session Leaders

Session leaders include senior professors from Queen’s School of Business and knowledgeable experts from industry. These outstanding teachers are constantly in touch with today’s business world through real-world business experience, Board memberships and their own consulting practices.

Scott Carson

Dr. Scott Carson, Director, Queen's MBA

Queen's School of Business, Kingston, Ontario

Scott Carson is the Director of Queen’s MBA, and is past Dean of the School of Business at Wilfrid Laurier University. In business, he was Vice-President and Head of Corporate Finance for CIBC in Toronto and also worked as an executive at Chemical Bank of Canada (J.P.Morgan Chase) and the Mercantile Bank (National Bank). While on leave from Wilfrid Laurier, he was Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Government’s Privatization Secretariat. He has also been a member of numerous boards of directors in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.

Shawna O'Grady

Dr. Shawna O'Grady, Associate Professor of Human Resources

Queen's School of Business, Kingston, Ontario

Shawna O'Grady is an authority on team building, human resource management, and the cross-cultural aspects of international business. She is an experienced team facilitator who is in high demand for her original approach to team building. She is also the author of Border Crossings – Doing Business in the U.S., an award-winning book on international business.

Clients: Microsoft, MDS, Mattel, Shoppers Drug Mart, Enbridge Consumers Gas, Industry Canada, BMW, Novo Nordisk, Oracle, Xerox, Bell Canada, GlaxoSmithKline, Ministry of Finance, Canada Post Corporation, and TD Canada Trust.

David Detomasi

Dr. David Detomasi, Assistant Professor of International Business

Queen's School of Business

David Detomasi has taught international business and country analysis at Queen’s University and a variety of courses at the Royal Military College of Canada, focusing on international relations and strategic planning. He is also active in case writing, having produced cases currently in use at Queen’s University and the Royal Military College. In the private sector, he has consulted with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and The World Economic Forum in examining the strategic and governance practices of the world’s most influential companies.

Tony Dimnik

Dr. Tony Dimnik, Assistant Professor of Management Accounting and Control

Queen’s School of Business, Kingston, Ontario

Tony Dimnik is an authority on strategic control systems and the relationship between capital budgeting and strategy. He has contributed to the understanding and practice of Activity-Based Costing and the Balanced Scorecard and his current research is on Open Book Management. He was recently named one of the best university lecturers in Ontario and has served as the chair of the audit committee of several companies. One of his interests is cinema and he often writes and speaks on how accountants are portrayed in the movies.

Clients: Microsoft, Financial Executives International, Alcan, VIA Rail, Canada Post, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Royal Bank, and Cirque du Soleil.

Session Leaders are subject to change.