MEloD Corporate Director Certified Program

What is Corporate Governance?

How do you ensure that a company runs smoothly? How do you ensure your company’s
performance is in line with what regulators want? The simple answer is corporate governance.

It’s best if the system you have to run your company minimizes risk and ensures higher returns for
shareholders or investors. It also helps if your operations are effective and efficient. That's the
reason for corporate governance: to oil the engine of trust among stakeholders across your
company.

Investors generally prefer equity markets that operate on secure corporate governance. Serious
investors prefer to anticipate financial tsunamis and try to avoid them.

Corporate Governance is:

“the system by which companies are directed and controlled.” - Adrian Cadbury

With potential sources enterprise risk rising at an unprecedented rate, you need to be able to help
your business remain resilient, post impressive financial returns, and manage enterprise risk with
poise.
Much of today’s business happens across international borders in real time. Board members and
directors can forge relevant partnerships and international expertise to remain effective.
Boards have the unique challenge of time, tools, expertise, and structure to be effective in
delivering on fiduciary expectations. These are what determine how boards advise their executive
teams to keep business sustainable.

Why Corporate Governance?

Good corporate governance is necessary to achieve the following goals:

 Lower corporate risk for your company

 Instill confidence in shareholders that their investment is secure

 Enable your company to access more funds

 Make your executive team more proactive and effective

 Improve information flows and enhance decision-making

 It will improve your company’s overall efficiency

 Accelerate company performance and growth

Program Objectives
If you seek the critical tools that will serve you well as a board member or executive in a startup in
the Middle East, that’s precisely what MEIoD Corporate Director’s Certification Program in
association with the IFC guarantees.

Strategy by itself is never enough. A composite team ensures that every detail is in place and goes
according to plan. The Institute of Finance Corporation – Member of the World Bank Group, has
designed the Board of Directors Program to enable you to become a more effective executive.
You’ll have significant knowledge about your role and skillfully perform the accompanying
responsibilities. This program places a high premium on long-term planning and future-focused
corporate practices.

What new insights will your board and management team learn? You’ll learn modern tools and
practices that’ll foster a culture of sound corporate governance throughout your company.

Our program also provides tested structures and strategies you can use in your company to ensure
it remains resilient despite challenges.

The program does more than weigh down participants with theory after theory. Our approach is to
explore practical tools and practices that help in implementing best practices, and enabling your
business to excel and focus on its key operations.

We just don’t teach either. Interaction is a key component of our curriculum in order to encourage
participant contribution. Peer-to-peer learning is a key component of the program.

Targeted Participants
Ideal candidates for the MEIoD Corporate Director’s Certification Program include board members,
board chairs, corporate directors, and other top-tier executives in the Middle East and North Africa
region. This program is appropriate if your corporate goals include:

 profitable sustainability,

 a professional approach to performance issues,

 expansion,

 succession, and

 access to capital.

The best part is that you’ll learn to apply the viable Corporate Governance framework and best
practices developed by the IFC.
Why Should You Consider The MEIoD Corporate Director’s
Certification Program?
Our program inspires you to continue learning the foundational skills you need to be an effective
contributor in the boardroom. Even as an experienced executive, you will learn the latest business
insights to help you remain relevant in the boardroom. There are various other reasons why this
program is top-rated among Corporate Governance experts and board members across many
companies:

1. The MEIoD Corporate Directors Certified Program is developed using the IFC’s extensive
experience and exposure to corporate governance. The MEIoD delivers the program to
correspond with IFC best practices.

2. It’s tailored to companies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, so it takes
cognizance of the nuances of doing business in the region.

3. It has a heavy focus on the fundamentals. You are a professional executive who must
display an awareness of emerging issues and trends that impact financial performance,
business models, and competition.

You need to show that you understand your job and can oversee diverse issues concerning
strategy and risk. Our program prepares you for these unique challenges so you can be
confident enough to serve on any board.

4. Participating in and completing this program leads to a high-value certification. Besides, it

provides a springboard to new and exciting board opportunities for participants. When an
opportunity becomes available, the MEIoD could nominate you to boards, if it’s in a position
to do so. We don’t just teach; our certification provides a platform for career growth.

5. It’s important to us that the program is relevant to you. That’s why more than 1,500 have
participated in the program and are currently enjoying resounding success. The real-world
experience component of our IFC partners makes this possible.

6. Taking our program tells stakeholders in your company that you are committed to
professional growth.

7. Once you participate in this program, you gain access to an exclusive league of certified
board members who you can engage with globally.

Program Structure
The four-part program structure consists of 22 modules and accompanying case studies.

The duration of the program is a total of 12 non-consecutive days via virtual live online sessions.
The program is in English.

IFC’s Corporate Governance Methodology forms the fundamentals of the program. Your
executives learn all they need for sound corporate governance processes and structures in your
company.

 Commitment to Good Corporate Governance

Our program focuses on teaching you the effective structures and processes that will
ensure good corporate governance outcomes It will help you take significant steps on the
board you sit on to build company culture.

 Board Structure and Functioning

It is necessary to foster a competent, effective, and resilient board in your company and we
will touch on key essentials, including who should be on your board, the structure of the
board, and the board work procedures.

 Management Control

You’ll learn hands-on how to achieve comprehensive management control, while helping to
create an environment with excellent internal control, risk management, and trustworthy
financials.

 Disclosure and Transparency

Our program covers how to engage with stakeholders, including shareholders and
regulators in a timely, accurate, relevant, complete, and actionable way is essential in
business.

As a member of a board, you will be able to identify stakeholders expectations and how
they impact company strategy.

 Shareholder Practices

You’ll learn best practices for protecting all levels of shareholders from insider abuse and
treating them equitably.

 Family Governance

If it’s a family company, you’ll learn to develop suitable mechanisms to regulate family
involvement in the company and deal with other family matters decisively.

Training Methodology
The MEIoD Corporate Director’s Certification Program in association with the IFC features great
content. But, content is nothing without delivery. We’re bringing on board expert instructors to
provide practical training that is both inspiring and transferable.
The instructors will deliver the course in an engaging way that encourages participant interaction
and peer discussions. A great deal of learning will result from this.

The course content will be available in these various formats that participants will find interesting:

 presentations

 articles, papers, and other background materials

 case studies, to drive discussions

To be clear, our instructors will teach the 22 modules and case studies of the program in English
over 12 non-consecutive days via virtual live sessions.

Corporate Directors Certified Program Outline

Part I – Board Basic

 Rationale for good Corporate Governance

 The Effective Board – roles and authorities, duties, and liabilities

 The Board Composition, structure, and need for independent directors

 Executive and non-executive evaluation and remuneration

 Working procedures of the Board and its Committees

Part II Board Specifics – Practical Tools

 The role of the Board in Setting Strategy

 Choosing and evaluating the CEO

 A guide to Succession Planning

 What every director needs to know about Accounting and Finance

Part III Board Specifics – Disclosure and Transparency

 The board’s role in information disclosure and transparency

 The board and risk management

 Establishing internal audit and control procedures

 The board’s audit committee

 How to interact with the external auditor

Part IV Board Specifics – Shareholder Rights

 Preparing for and conducting the annual general meeting
  The board’s role in protecting shareholder rights

 Related party transaction & insider trading

 Managing corporate conflicts

 The role of the board in setting the company’s dividend policy

Further Information
Thank you for reading through this program brochure. Would you like to take the leap with the IFC-
backed Middle East Institute of Directors program? You can request more information or register
right away if you contact us now.

Maali Khader

Email: Maali@MEIoD.org

Phone: +971 4 401 8506

Dubai, UAE