Certified Board Secretary Training Course

Why select this training course?

A board secretary has become a key and important person in any organization from the old mere support person they used to be. This course from Rcademy will give you the required training to become the relevant person on the board who will ensure the board sticks to corporate advancement and governance and that the board fosters a healthy relationship between management and itself.

How do you become a board secretary?

To become a board secretary, they are some basic qualifications that you will need to attain. Some of them involve having strong communication skills both in written and spoken languages because you will stay active in passing communication to board members and the chairperson, having the ability to correctly determine tasks prioritization and handle the tasks swiftly, and being familiar with organizational structures.

What does a certified board secretary do?

A board secretary is responsible for ensuring that governance best practices are adhered to. They are experts in governance practices, consultancy, corporate secretarial practice, governance audits, and compliance. Board secretaries guide individual directors, shareholders, management, boards, and other stakeholders in strategic decision-making.

Are the board secretary part of the board?

Yes, they are board members, just like the rest of the board members. They are equal to other board members. The board officials are elected from the board members by the bylaws of the organization. The implication is that a board secretary may have previously or can, in the future, serve as the chair.

Rcademy has designed Certified Board Secretary Training Course to ensure the fundamentals and essential skills of becoming a board secretary are covered fully and thoroughly. It provides deep insight into a certified board secretary’s roles, duties, and responsibilities and the important role they play in ensuring compliance with local and company law, the organizations’ guidelines, and the board rules. By undertaking this course, you will have made the right decision in boosting the credibility and confidence in your career required to play an active role in the board politics of appointing a new director and ensuring the best practices are followed in board meetings.

Who should attend?

The Certified Board Secretary Training Course by Rcademy is a perfect fit for:

• Compliance professional
• Board secretaries who wish to increase their knowledge
• Any company and board secretary
• Corporate governance professional
• The members of the board who have the potential to fill this position
• Board and organization managers and staff that have the duties to support governance roles and corporate documentation activities
• Governance managers
• Internal audit
• Risk managers
• Managers who assess governance, such as the CFO

What are the course objectives?

After undergoing Certified Board Secretary Training Course by Rcademy, the participants will be able to:

• Develop the skills to uphold good board governance
• Understand the main duties of the company secretary
• Understand how to introduce sound governance plans and strategies in the board
• Understand the key policies, practices, and methods to host a better AGM
• Learn how to effectively support good governance in boards and foster best organizational practices
• Learn how to plan and execute board meetings
• Understand the existing regulatory reporting procedures and other key corporate events
• Assume higher offices with more responsibilities

How will this course be presented?

This Rcademy training course will prepare you thoroughly for the job market with the necessary skills and knowledge. The course will use unique and well-tested methodologies to deliver the content with real-world examples. The facilitators of this course are experienced in both teaching and their fields of expertise and, therefore, understand the practical nature of this course. The assignment, video presentations, projects, and group discussions will give you the necessary skills to excel in the job market and solve real-world problems.

What are the topics covered in this course?

The modules covered in this course are necessary for any professional to be a certified board secretary.

Module 1: Governance and Decision-Making

• Decision cycle
• Decision types
• Governance compliance
• Accountability and decision-making
• Governance framework
• How to enforce rules
• Best practices in governance
• Governance decisions
• Governance structures
• Partners management
• Delegation and special committees
• Evaluation of decisions
• Decision-making dynamics

Module 2: Board Members

• Duty of obedience
• Duty of care
• Benchmarking from other sources
• Leap of Reason
• Boards and CEOs
• Duty of loyalty
• Accountability
• Recruiting board members
• Work plan for board members
• Consenting to board agendas
• Evaluating the performance of the board members
• Roles, duties, and responsibilities

Module 3: Shareholders and Stakeholders

• Introduction
• Defining key stakeholders and their roles
• Opportunities for improving engagement
• Why and how are boards engaging with stakeholders?
• The current landscape
• The Challenges of Stakeholders’ Engagement

Module 4: Minutes Writing

• Accountability and progress considerations
• The documented rationale for decision-making
• Continuity
• Legal protection of the records
• Formatting of the minutes
• Taking note of attendance
• Planning before-hand
• Create a note-taking outline
• Objective writing
• Including votes of individual board members
• Including opinions
• Anything that can cause scrutiny
• Creating a template

Module 5: Board Dynamics

• Steering organizational future
• Governance on boards
• Removing non-performing officers
• Hiring the Right CEO
• Nurturing growth
• Providing incentives
• Recommending new engagements
• Adding credibility

Module 6: Scope, Roles, Duties, and Responsibilities of a Board Secretary

• Ensuring effective meetings and organized minutes
• Communication and correspondence
• Maintaining effective records and administration
• Defining the roles of the board
• Liaising with the chair to create meetings
• Taking minutes
• Receiving agenda items for committee members
• Upholding compliance with regulations
• Reporting activities of the organization

Module 7: Board Committees

• Audit Committee
• Creating the ethics committee and ensuring compliance
• Risk Committee
• Nomination
• Remuneration
• Shareholders’ and stakeholders’ grievances
• Corporate Compliance
• How to create committees following bylaws
• Roles and duties

Module 8: Board Evaluation

• Oversight and failures
• Activist investors
• Evaluation requirements
• Planning and designing a better evaluation process
• Determining who to evaluate
• Prioritizing evaluation topics
• Getting the required feedback by asking necessary evaluation questions
• Members’ evaluation on different levels
• Intra-year evaluations and feedback