THE 9TH C–SUITE SEMINAR

THE INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS OF KENYA
(Established under the Accountants Act, Laws of Kenya)
THE 9TH C–SUITE SEMINAR
THEME: Building capacity of Senior Executives to drive organizational transformation and resilience
DATE: 13TH – 17TH JUNE 2022
VENUE: HILTON ISTANBUL BOMONTI HOTEL, TURKEY

TIME: 09.00am-03.30pm

OVERVIEW 

C-level executives work as a team to ensure a company’s strategies and operations align with the established plans and policies. With public companies, activities that don’t lean toward increased profits for shareholders are routinely corrected under the purview of C-level management personnel. The C-suite is deemed the most important and influential group of individuals within a company. Reaching this high echelon typically requires a plethora of experience and finely-honed leadership skills. While many C-level executives formerly relied on functional know-how and technical skills to climb the lower rungs of the corporate ladder, most have cultivated more visionary perspectives needed to make sound upper management decisions.

As the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic are being realized, it is a critical time for Senior Executives to develop the necessary skills that would necessitate the development of resilient return to work plans as well as strengthen the internal controls for the organizations they oversee. The C-Suite Seminar will provide an avenue for senor leaders to share knowledge and key lessons on critical governance aspects regarding the main strategic priorities for businesses in the region, lessons on effective leadership, delegation and virtual oversight, mental health, self-management, overview of cross cutting audit issues for organizations, overview of integrated reporting and POCAMLA among other key technical and soft topics that are critical for executives.

Integrated Reporting brings together material information about an organization’s strategy, governance, performance, and prospects in a way that reflects the commercial, social and environmental context within which it operates. It leads to a clear and concise articulation of your value creation story which is useful and relevant to all stakeholders. Not only is integrated reporting about numbers, it also encompasses integrated thinking.  It is as much about how companies do business and how they create value over the short, medium, and long term as it is about how this value story is reported.

Enterprise resilience is an organization’s ability to respond to, recover from, and then resume and sustain business operations at acceptable levels of service to impacted stakeholders during significant disruptions. This includes a combination of the organization, people and processes, as well as the tools and technology used to execute processes. The level of resilience capabilities required will vary by firm and industry and are influenced by the business services the firm delivers plus the expected impact of disruption. Regardless of how dependent a firm is on IT, robust resilience and recovery plans and solutions need to be introduced to mitigate against IT failure scenarios. This requires continuous focus, measurement, and ongoing improvement to build a robust resilience capability to withstand disruptions.

Anti-money laundering (AML) refers to the laws, regulations and procedures intended to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate income. Anti-money laundering initiatives rose to global prominence in 1989, when a group of countries and organizations around the world formed the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Its mission is to devise international standards to prevent money laundering and promote their implementation. In October 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, FATF expanded its mandate to include combating terrorist financing.

Another important organization in the fight against money laundering is the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Like the FATF, the IMF has pressed its 189 member countries to comply with international standards to thwart terrorist financing. AML laws and regulations target criminal activities including market manipulation, trade in illegal goods, corruption of public funds and tax evasion, as well as the methods used to conceal these crimes and the money derived from them. Criminals often “launder” money they obtain through illegal acts such as drug trafficking so the funds cannot be easily traced to them. One common technique is to run the money through a legitimate cash-based business owned by the criminal organization or its confederates. The supposedly legitimate business deposits the money, which the criminals can then withdraw.

The Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2009  (POCAMLA) provides for the offence of money laundering and introduces measures for combating the offence. One such measure is that financial institutions, estate agencies and designated non-financial businesses or professions such as casinos and dealers of metals and stones (collectively, the reporting agencies) are under duty to verify customer identity and to undertake customer due diligence on existing customers or clients. Parliament has now raised the bar of this duty. Through the Finance Act, 2018, the reporting agencies shall  apply enhanced customer due diligence on business relationships and transactions with any person or company originating from countries identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as high risk of money laundering.

Self-management is the ability to manage one’s behaviours, thoughts, and emotions in a conscious and productive way. Someone with strong self-management skills knows what to do and how to act in different situations. For instance, they know how to control their anger under extreme circumstances. They know how to avoid distractions while working from home, so they can maintain focus and stay productive. Self-management means you understand your personal responsibility in different aspects of your life, and you do what you need to fulfil that responsibility.

Self-management has its roots in emotional intelligence theory, where this capability may also be referred to as self-regulation. Self-regulation is supported by our capacity for self-awareness, which helps us create conscious access to our thoughts, desires, and feelings. Those with well-developed self-awareness and self-regulation are well-positioned to develop a set of self-management skills that support them on their work and personal journeys.

From an organizational perspective, the ability of team members to self-manage is critical to the effective functioning of an organization. Imagine an environment where the majority of those working within it were unable to stay on task, on strategy, and on schedule. That would make it very challenging to complete projects.

Self-management is even more important when we talk about empowering employees across the organization to be more innovative and resourceful. When every team member understands their responsibilities, goals, and what it takes to achieve them, they can make better decisions and do their part to achieve the team and organization objectives. Part of effective self-management with empowerment is that employees make good decisions about when to seek additional help or input.

This seminar has been designed to provide an opportunity for senior executives to share experiences and ideas on the various dilemmas and opportunities as presented above.

The seminar is geared to focus on the following key topics:

1. Building resilient enterprises to withstand changing times and dynamic environment: People, Processes, Tools and Technology
2. An overview of the book: The Resilient Enterprise- Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage by Yossi Sheffi
3. Benefits of Integrated Reporting and the 6 capitals of integrated reporting according to IIRC: financial, manufacturing, natural, human, intellectual & social and relationship.
4. Emerging global trends in the Strategic Planning Process
5. Auditing during COVID-19: Key cross cutting audit issues for organizations
6. A look at the mental health agenda for C-Suite Executives
7. Overview of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti- Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA) and the respective compliance requirements for C-Suite executives
8. How C-Suite Executives can leverage on Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in decision making
9. Leveraging on automation to create value:

• Overview of successful ERP Implementation Processes- Key milestones expected by C-Suite Executives before signing off
• Increasing role of Board and senior executives in Cybersecurity Governance
• Technology and the Future of Work – Future skills for success at the C- – Suite level

1. Leadership & Character

• The Essential Leadership Skills Practices Needed in the Modern Age
• Influential Leadership Vs Authoritarian Leadership

1. Effective Delegation for Successful Delivery of Organization’s Mission

• The Discipline of Getting Things Done
• The Dynamics of Leadership in Managing Virtual Teams

1. Self-management, Etiquette, and self-presentation tips for C-Suite Executives

TARGET AUDIENCE

The seminar is ideal for mid-level and high-level executives including Chief Executives, Managing Directors, Chief Managers, Heads of Departments, Senior Managers, Chief Finance Officers, Chief Operations Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Human Resources Manager, Chief Security Officer, Chief Green Officer, Chief Analytics Officer, Chief Medical Officer, Chief Data Officer, Management Consultants, and Accounting Officers of Government Units and entities. This seminar is not limited to the accountancy profession only, staff from other units are highly encouraged to attend.

FINANCIAL COMMITMENT:

**Note: Delegates are required to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. 

CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNITS

Members of ICPAK and those from other reciprocating professional bodies will earn 20 CPD units upon successfully attending all seminar sessions.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

For non-Kenyan delegates, please enquire with your embassy on the travel requirements. ICPAK shall avail invitation letters to support delegates VISA processing. To request for one, email: raphael.nguli@icpak.com

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).

CONTACT

Further requests can be channeled to us via email to raphael.nguli@icpak.com with a copy to memberservices@icpak.com or telephone call on +254 732 352476.

We encourage delegates to regularly visit our website www.icpak.com for updates.