CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS OF KENYA
(Established under the Accountant Act, Laws of Kenya)

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
Theme: Building Effective Corporate Governance Practices for Sustainable Economic Development
Venue: Sarova Whitesands Beach Hotel and Spa Mombasa
Date: 20th to 24th March 2023
09.00am-03.30pm

OVRERVIEW

Corporate governance refers to the structures and processes for the direction and control of companies. Corporate governance matters because it improves investee companies’ performance and helps develop capital markets. Sound corporate governance reduces risk, adds value to investments, and avoids reputational risks for investors. Given the strong links between good corporate governance and sustainable economic development, improving corporate governance practices has become an important element of the development mission of financial institutions

The purpose of corporate governance is to facilitate effective, entrepreneurial, and prudent management that can deliver the long-term success of the private and public sectors of our economy. Corporate governance, and the link between governance and strategic performance, remains a topical focus for public policy makers, academicians, and commentators. Despite an extensive and growing training in this field by various local and international training institutions, the link between corporate governance and performance remains elusive.

The responsibilities of the board include setting the company’s strategic aims, providing the leadership to put them into effect, supervising the management of the business and reporting to shareholders on their stewardship. Corporate governance is therefore about what the board of a company does and how it sets the values of the company, and it is to be distinguished from the day-to-day operational management of the company by full-time executives.

The sustainability of conventional corporate governance models has recently come into question. Directors are living in the midst of intense competition in a business environment disrupted by shifts in technology, macroeconomics and geopolitics. As a result, some of the critical questions that boards need to confront are: What transforms the business environment today? What are our risks and opportunities? Can directors continue to be effective without considering recalibration and renewal?

We must appreciate that good governance can also have wider impacts to the non-listed sector because it is fundamentally about improving transparency and accountability within existing systems. One of the interesting developments in the last few years has been the way in which the ‘corporate’ governance label has been used to describe governance and accountability issues beyond the corporate sector.

Good leadership provides the required direction for an organization and its stakeholders, both internal and external. Various stakeholders need to know the direction in which the organization is headed and who to follow to reach the destination. Leadership involves showing employees how to effectively perform their responsibilities and regularly supervising the completion of their tasks while providing feedback for improvement. Good leadership also includes setting a positive example for staff to follow, by being excited about the work, being motivated to learn new things, receiving feedback, and helping as needed in both individual and team activities.

Corporate governance and ethical leadership have grown in popularity in the discourse of strategy. Corporate governance is about leadership and is the processes and decision-making approval process that governs the way in which firms function. Governance is focused on efficiency, probity, responsibility, transparency, and accountability with effective and ethical leaders as a part of a governance system.

Suggested to possess these traits, leaders are expected to make ethical decisions and do so in a manner aligned with the mission, vision, and values of the firm. The leader’s beliefs, values, visions and actions are suggested to generate the tone of a firm and the standard of governance in corporations and influence ethical choice of the strategies by the firm.

This Conference will provide you with the opportunity to discuss issues and challenges as well as dwell on topical areas such as:

1. Principles of Corporate Governance:

• Fairness
• Transparency
• Stakeholder engagement
• Accountability

2. Emerging Trends in Corporate Governance:

• Environmental, Social and Governance
• The link between Sustainability and Good Governance
• Data privacy regulations

3. Streamlining the human capital agenda and workforce planning in line with effective corporate governance
4. Conducting physical, virtual and hybrid Board and Shareholder meetings
5. Tone at the top and tone in the middle in steering corporate culture
6. Corporate Governance Paradigm Shift-Board renewal and transformation in modern times
7. Balance of power between shareholders, management, and the Board
8. Effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting and risk management
9. Ethical leadership and corporate citizenship
10. Entrenching national values and beliefs to drive accountability in public and private sectors
11. Influential Leadership Skills for Managers- Leading by influence
12. Leadership and development score cards for devolved and national government leaders

Panel Discussion Topics:

13. The place of governance and leadership in mitigating Cybersecurity and other IT related Risks
14. The role of leaders in crisis management
15. Leading intergenerational teams

TARGET AUDIENCE:

The Seminar invites the participation of professionals in public and private sectors, legislators, policy makers at the national and county level, public finance practitioners from the National Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies, County Governments, Regulatory Bodies, Independent Commissions, Constitutional Offices Development Partners, with a focus on the role of the legislature and policy makers in driving transformative leadership for prudent public finance management. The seminar is also ideal for Board of Directors and Audit Committee Members, CEOs, CFOs, Divisional Leaders and Senior Strategic Managers, Enterprise Risk Management and Compliance Experts, Internal & External Auditors, Academicians, Industry players, Policy Makers, Industry regulators and stakeholders from both private and public sectors

CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNITS
Members of ICPAK and those from other reciprocating professional bodies will earn 20 CPD units upon successfully attending all conference sessions.

Financial Commitment:

Note: Delegates are required to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. Seminar charges cater for training fee, training materials, certificate and meals during the event.

Online Booking:

We call on Conference participants to note that booking is available only online at www.icpak.com/events.

Delegates are reminded to note that online booking for training sessions is MANDATORY.   This is available either online at www.icpak.com/events  or on the ICPAK Live – A smart phone-based application that is available from google store.

National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) Reimbursement:

The Institute is registered as a trainer with National Industrial Training Authority. The Institute’s registration number is DIT/TRN/47. Participants who are registered levy contributors should apply to NITA for reimbursement of their fees. Please note that this is applicable for Kenyan citizens only and subject to NITA regulations. Remember that to qualify you should apply to NITA for approval prior to the date of the conference. Further details can be obtained from their website (www.nita.go.ke)

Sponsorship Opportunities & Additional Information

The Governance and Leadership Conference attracts over 200 participants drawn from both the public and private sectors presenting a rare chance for exhibitors and sponsors. Those interested in sponsoring this event can reach us through raphael.nguli@icpak.com. Other requests for information can be channelled to us via telephone on +254 733 856 262/ 727531006/ 733856262/ 721469169.

We encourage you to regularly visit our website www.icpak.com for updates on the Conference.