GDI-EC01 · Stage 1 · Division I
Executive Certificate in Board Directorship & Governance.
Enter the boardroom.
A practice-led transition into the distinct legal and fiduciary office of director. New and aspiring directors leave legally literate, financially alert and ready to contribute from the first meeting.
8 weeks · 70–80 hours
Convened for
Who this is for.
- §Newly appointed or aspiring non-executive directors
- §Executives moving onto their first board or committee
- §Company secretaries and general counsel advising boards
- §Founders preparing to institutionalise governance
On completion
What you will be able to do.
- ·Discharge director duties under the Companies Act and the Code
- ·Read a board pack with independent judgement
- ·Contribute to committee decisions from the first meeting
- ·Document decisions to a defensible standard
Curriculum
Course content and modules.
Each module follows the GDI learning rhythm — Prepare, Interrogate, Practise, Produce, Reflect — and closes with board-usable evidence.
01
Week 1
The Office of Director
The legal, fiduciary and ethical nature of directorship; the distinction between management and governance.
02
Week 2
Duties, Liabilities & the Code
Statutory duties, personal liability, the Companies Act and the National Corporate Governance Code.
03
Week 3
Board Architecture & Committees
Board composition, committee mandates, terms of reference and the flow of authority.
04
Week 4
Reading the Board Pack
Financial statements, KPIs and management reports through a director's lens.
05
Week 5
Meetings, Minutes & Decisions
Chairing conventions, quorum, voting, dissent and the discipline of the minute.
06
Week 6
Ethics, Conflicts & Independence
Conflicts of interest, related-party dealings and the standard of independent mind.
07
Week 7
Board-Entry Laboratory
Live simulation: reading a real pack, intervening in committee, questioning management.
08
Week 8
Court of Assessment
Written examination, observed board-entry simulation and appointment due-diligence dossier.
Assessment Architecture
How you are assessed.
- Written examinationDirector law, duties and ethics — 30%
- Board paper exerciseFinance and paper critique — 25%
- Due-diligence dossierAppointment readiness pack — 20%
- Observed simulationBoard-entry practicum — 25%
Board-Ready Evidence
What you take back to the board.
- ·Appointment due-diligence dossier
- ·Director law and ethics examination
- ·Board paper and finance exercise
- ·Observed board-entry simulation
Apply for the next cohort.
Admissions are by application and interview. Cohorts are limited.