Boardroom Financial Essentials (BFE)

Description

Module

• IMPROVING YOUR FINANCIAL COMPREHENSION FROM A DIRECTOR-LEVEL PERSPECTIVE AND YOUR ABILITY TO UTILIZE FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE TO MAKE PRUDENT BOARDROOM DECISIONS

  • Enhance your ability to understand and critically assess the data, key components and nuances of financial statements, as a director, and understand the cycle of financial planning and reporting
  • Recognize the fundamental differences between board and management responsibilities for financial reporting
  • Increase your awareness of how to use financial ratios to assess financial performance
  • Familiarize yourself with the complexities of the financial decision-making encountered by board members: real world examples

  EFFECTIVELY WORKING WITH EXTERNAL AUDITORS AND AUDIT COMMITTEES

  • Gain an overview of the auditor’s role and key elements of an audit
  • Identify common issues board directors might encounter in audit committee reports
  • Understand how directors can relate elements from an audit findings report to their assessment of the organization’s financial statements
  • Develop critical thinking and questioning skills related to audit reports and financial statements

  CAPITAL BUDGETING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO ADD VALUE TO THE BUDGET APPROVAL PROCESS

  • Learn how to approach capital budgeting decisions presented by management

  • Know what you must consider as a director to assess the budget
  • Spot important issues that board directors may encounter in capital budget requests
  • Advance your critical thinking and questioning skills related to capital budget requests

  USING KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS TO EVALUATE OVERALL PERFORMANCE AND MONITOR PROGRESS ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND OPERATING PLAN

  • Enhance your understanding of KPIs as critical indicators of success
  • Assessing management’s plans to deliver against KPIs

  • Approaching discussions about key performance indicators and how they should be reported publicly
  • Develop an understanding of the differences between financial and non-financial performance indicators

  ENHANCING UNDERSTANDING OF THE ROLE OF THE BOARD IN M&A TRANSACTIONS

  • Identify the deal structure, terms and motivation for the M&A transaction
  • Be able to provide appropriate advice and perspectives to senior management
  • Fulfill the responsibility of protecting and increasing stockholder value

Who Should Participate?

Key Benefits

• • Distinguish various types of financial statements and their implications for their organization
  • Boost ability to utilize financial information to make prudent boardroom decisions
  • Effectively work with external auditors and audit committees
  • Utilize financial data and analysis more effectively to add value to budget and boardroom discussions
  • Apply key performance indicators to evaluate overall performance and to identify financial concerns
  • Enhance awareness of the role of the board in capital allocation and in evaluating M&A transactions

  Participants will obtain the knowledge and insights to fully realize the role of the board in financial oversight today. They will also improve their understanding of the financial information provided to them and the consequences of their decisions and actions.
   

Format

• Independent online learning (approximately four hours)
  This is a critical component of the course (and includes an e-learning module, videos, readings, and more). It introduces key concepts and will prepare participants for effective participation in the live session and ensure they are ready to apply learnings from the course to their board work. The required independent learning should be completed prior to the live session. It is meant to be completed at a pace that works best for each participant.
  
  Live, instructor-led session (approximately four hours)
  This instructor-led online session will focus on the application of concepts covered through independent learning. Attendance at the live session is required for successful course completion. The live session includes class discussions, breakout group discussions and exercises, Q & A with instructors and other experts, and live interactive panel discussions.
   
  Supplemental resources and tools
  Participants will receive supplemental resources to augment the required components of their independent learning packages.
   
  Learning sustainment and engagement opportunities
  Following course completion, participants will be invited to join an Alumni Portal, becoming part of a community where they gain access to tools and resources to help apply course learnings in real-life settings. They will also have opportunities to engage in discussion forums with course peers to exchange questions, ideas and experiences and apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills.

Current Offerings

• City	Course	Application Deadline	Course Offering	Course Time
  Online	BFE 4	January 2, 2024	January 23, 2024	10 a.m.- 2 p.m.

   

Faculty

Robert D. Brouwer

FCPA, FCA, ICD.D

National Academic Director and Lead Instructor

Robert D. Brouwer

FCPA, FCA, ICD.D

National Academic Director and Lead Instructor

Rob is a retired partner of KPMG, where he served as Vice Chair for KPMG in Canada, Regional Head of Markets for KPMG in the Americas, a member of the KPMG Americas Management Committee, and a member of the KPMG Global Clients and Markets Steering Group. In addition to his leadership roles, he played active client service roles as an executive relationship partner for a wide range of public and private companies. He also has extensive experience in securities regulatory issues in both Canada and the US, and is a frequent speaker and lecturer. Rob was recognized as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
 
Rob is actively committed to the advancement of board governance in Canada. He has served as Faculty for the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD)-Rotman Directors Education Program since its inception, has served on the National Board of the ICD board, and as Chair of the ICD Ontario Chapter. He is Vice Chair the KPMG Board Leadership Centre and has worked with a number of KPMG’s largest clients supporting their board governance initiatives, including board training, development of policies and procedures, governance effectiveness reviews, and board self-assessment.
 
Rob is actively committed to our communities, including serving on a number of arts and not-for-profit boards. Rob currently serves as Chair of Ballet Jorgen Canada, director of the Soulpepper Theatre Company, and previously as director of the Canadian Opera Company.  He served as a director of Volunteer Toronto, and was recognized as a Circle of Champions member for his work with the TRIEC Mentoring Partnership. He has served on both the Campaign Cabinet and the Major Individual Givers Cabinet for the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Canadian Blood Services Campaign Cabinet For All Canadians, and on the Fundraising Cabinet for the Hospital for Sick Children’s Research and Learning Tower, and the SickKids Leaders Cabinet.

Andrée Savoie

P. Eng., ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Andrée Savoie

P. Eng., ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Andrée Savoie is President and CEO of Adelin Properties Ltd., a commercial real estate development and property management company. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Killam Apartment REIT. Her involvement in the community includes taking on the role of Chair of the Board of Directors of Athletics New Brunswick. Until April 2023, she was a Director on the Board of the National Bank of Canada, member of its Audit Committee as well as its Revision and Governance Committee. Her experience includes 3 years as Chair and an additional 8 years as a Member of the Board of Directors of Assumption Life, a mutual life insurance company headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick. She has earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from McGill University, a master’s degree in applied sciences from University of Ottawa, and the ICD.D designation.

Expert Contributors

L. Robin Cardozo

FCPA, ICD.D

L. Robin Cardozo

FCPA, ICD.D

L. Robin Cardozo, FCPA, ICD.D, retired after 30 years in executive positions with leading not-for-profit and charitable organizations in Ontario. He is currently engaged as a consultant in the not-for-profit sector, as an executive mentor, and as a training consultant at the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Cardozo currently serves on the Boards of Soulpepper Theatre (incoming chair) and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund. In the recent past, he served on the Boards of the Ontario Nonprofit Network (board chair), Bridgepoint Active Health and Centennial College.
 
Prior to his retirement, Mr. Cardozo served as Chief Operating Officer at SickKids Foundation. Before joining SickKids, Robin served for twelve years as Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), one of Canada’s largest grant-making foundations with a mission to help build healthy and vibrant communities in Ontario. OTF is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and during Robin’s tenure more than $1 billion in grants were made to deserving not-for-profit organizations across the province. For a decade before that, Mr. Cardozo served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of United Way Greater Toronto.
 
Mr. Cardozo was born in Pakistan, and was educated in Pakistan and in Britain. He was trained as a Chartered Accountant in the 1970’s, and was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (FCPA) in 2000. He is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D), and a Senior Fellow at Massey College at the University of Toronto. In 2013, he was awarded the Ontario Lieutenant Governor’s Medal of Distinction in Public Administration.

Dr. Catharine Farrow

PhD, PGeo, ICD.D

Dr. Catharine Farrow

PhD, PGeo, ICD.D

Catharine is a Professional Geoscientist (APGO) and accredited Corporate Director (ICD.D) with 30 years of experience in the mining industry. She currently serves as an Independent Director of Franco-Nevada Corporation, Eldorado Gold Corporation, Aclara Resources Inc. (Lead Director) and Centamin PLC, and is Chair of the Board of Exiro Minerals Corp. She is President of FarExGeoMine Ltd. (her private consulting/advisory company) with clients in the mining and IT industries, as well as a Member of the Metrolinx Capital Oversight Committee (a Committee of the Board of Metrolinx). Until earlier this year (2022), she was also a Program Director of the Osgoode Mining Law Program at York University, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Mineral Exploration Research Centre, Harquail School of Earth Sciences, a Member of the Goodman School of Mines Advisory Board and had been an Adjunct Professor since 1995, all at Laurentian University. From 2012 to 2017 she was Founding CEO, Director and Co-Founder of TMAC Resources Inc. (now Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.), the first producing gold miner with operations in Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, in Canada’s High Arctic. Before TMAC, Catharine was COO of KGHM International (formerly Quadra FNX Mining Ltd.). Previously at Quadra FNX and FNX Mining Company Inc. she held multiple senior executive roles in a wide range of disciplines including operations, technical services, corporate development and exploration. Before FNX, Catharine was with both Inco Ltd. and the Ontario Geological Survey. Catharine has previously served on the Board of a number of private companies in mining and technology, not-for-profit and government Advisory Boards. She has been honoured with the Acadia University Distinguished Alumni Award for 2020, as one of the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining (2015 and 2018) and is a past recipient of the William Harvey Gross Medal of the Geological Association of Canada (2000). Catharine obtained her BSc (Hons) from Mount Allison University, her MSc from Acadia University and her PhD from Carleton University.

J. Robert S. Prichard

O.C, O.Ont.

 

J. Robert S. Prichard

O.C, O.Ont.

 

Robert Prichard serves as chair of Torys LLP. He is also a director of Onex Corporation, Alamos Gold and Wittington Investments, a member of the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold and the Canadian advisory board of ApplyBoard, and a trustee of Central European University.  He also serves as the Visitor at Massey College.  He has previously served as chair of the Bank of Montreal, Metrolinx, Moore Corporation and Hospital for Sick Children and as Lead Director at George Weston among other directorships.
 
From 2002 to 2009, Mr Prichard was president and CEO of Torstar Corporation. He is also President Emeritus of the University of Toronto, where he served as president from 1990 to 2000 and was previously dean of law and a professor specializing in law and economics. He is a recipient of the David Smith Award for his contributions to public policy in higher education, the Champion of Public Education Award and the Testimonial Award of the Public Policy Forum.
 
Mr. Prichard attended Swarthmore College where he studied economics, earned his MBA at the University of Chicago, and earned law degrees from the University of Toronto and Yale University. He has also received honorary degrees from eleven colleges and universities in Canada and the U.S. He is an officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario and a 2016 Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors.