Governance and Control

Governance is an important aspect of any company, regardless of its size or industry. The purpose of governance is to ensure that your company is run in a responsible and effective manner, and that the employees are held accountable to certain standards. The CFO plays a key role as a board member to contribute towards strong governance and hold others accountable for their actions.

No business can be successful without taking risks. However, every business decision impacts profits either positively or negatively. By taking steps to assess and mitigate risks, the CFO can encourage everybody in your company to protect your business from potential losses.

All companies need to maintain compliance regardless of whether you’re a small business or a large multinational corporation. There are many laws, regulations and standards that businesses must adhere to and failing to do so can result in serious penalties or significant reputational damage. Identifying each of these requirements can sometimes be challenging.

Closing the books on a timely basis means your company accounts for all its financial transactions in the correct period. This provides an accurate picture of the financial performance and position at each period-end, allowing finance teams to create reliable management reports that can help support the wider business.

Robust treasury policies help companies to maximize your cash flows and protect the financial health of your business. By optimizing working capital cycles, finance leaders can allocate additional funding towards strategic priorities. Treasury operations can help reduce your company’s exposure to macroeconomic factors, for example by hedging foreign exchange and interest rate movements.

Each of these requirements are essential components of your CFO role and must be implemented effectively.

During this module, participants will:

1. Understand governance, risk management, compliance, closing the books and treasury;
2. Learn the key areas to consider when implementing each of these requirements;
3. Improve your skills for simplifying, automating and shortening your financial close process;
4. Identify ways to shorten your financial close timetable;
5. Listen to best practice suggestions and case studies from experienced CFOs;
6. Assess your current level of achievement within this competency;
7. Develop your future skills regarding governance, compliance, closing the books and treasury; and
8. Create your development plan for implementing these essential duties.

Learning Objectives:

After completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Oversee governance and compliance
• Manage risk
• Identify ways to shorten the financial close
• Create treasury policies
• Manage foreign currency exposure

Additional Information:

CPE Credit/CPD Hours: 4.2

Field of Study: Management Services

No prerequisite knowledge is required to be successful in this course.

No advance preparation is required.

Program Level: Basic

Delivery Method: QAS Self Study