Programmes
Achieving Effective Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance is an integral part of business in the 21st century. The crisis in the banking industry and the global recession have put the area of corporate governance in the spotlight and whilst there is no one cause, failures in corporate governance can be seen as a common theme. The course aims to provide an understanding of corporate governance, how it can be used to mitigate risk, the parties responsible for its implementation & monitoring, together with the wider responsibilities for corporate governance, past failings and the responses and implications of these failings.
Compliance and Risk Management
The Compliance and Risk Management Programme examines the key risk management issues and topics that are of vital importance in today’s highly regulated environment. The Programme is lectured by subject matter experts and is highly practical. Full written notes and copy PowerPoint slides are included.
Employee Benefit Trusts and Share Plans
The aim of this programme is to provide practitioners and intermediaries with an understanding of Employee Benefit Trusts and Share Plans from the perspective of employers, employees and regulators and the issues that affect their implementation and administration. Training can also be targeted to improve employees’ confidence and ability both in administration and in the area of account management, to promote confidence when meeting and presenting to existing clients or potential new business.
Financial Crime Prevention
The Programme examines a range of financial crime types, analyses the vulnerability of businesses to those crimes and examines the ways in which anti financial crime measures can be strengthened. The Programme is lectured by skilled practitioners, not academics, is light on theory and heavy on practice, with content drawn from extensive experience in the investigation, prosecution and defence of numerous financial crimes in recent years.
Management and Leadership
This programme is designed to provide senior professionals with a key understanding of the core skills of leadership and teamwork, excellence in customer service and performance development.
Non-Executive Directors Development
The role and effectiveness of non-executive directors (NEDs) in the financial services industry has never been under such scrutiny. The Turner Review, the Walker Review, the 2009 Review of the Combined Code and, of course, the FSA have all highlighted in recent months the importance of effective governance for both institutions and the industry as a whole if we are to avoid a repeat of recent difficulties in the future. It is this environment that has triggered increasing calls for enhanced knowledge requirements in the NED community, with the prospect of legislation or regulation to that effect fast becoming a very real possibility. In a recent speech, Hector Sants, Chief Executive of the FSA, said that NEDs “…need to commit to raise their technical skills in order to exercise rigorous oversight. Ultimately, they will need to demonstrate competence with regard to risk management, regulation, and - importantly - the business model of the firm.” In response to these growing pressures, the IFS School of Finance has developed a focused programme of Masterclasses specifically for NEDs and those who directly support them, designed to enhance knowledge and skills in essential areas. Each of the four Masterclasses is led by an acknowledged expert in their field with direct, practical experience of the issues and topics being addressed. Places are limited and strictly reserved for NEDs or senior advisers to enable detailed discussion and full interaction.