Financial Risk Governance for Boards and Executives Seminar

Course overview

The Financial Risk Governance for Boards and Executives Seminar equips board members, directors and senior executives with the knowledge and practical frameworks required to oversee financial risks, strengthen institutional resilience and integrate risk considerations into strategic decision-making. The seminar examines the governance structures, accountability arrangements, risk appetite frameworks and executive reporting practices needed to identify, assess, monitor and respond to material financial and non-financial risks.

Participants explore credit risk, liquidity risk, market risk, capital adequacy, operational risk, cybersecurity, financial crime, regulatory compliance and emerging technology risks. Particular attention is given to the respective responsibilities of boards, board risk committees, executive management, risk functions, compliance teams and internal audit.

Course objectives

• Define board and executive responsibilities for financial risk oversight, governance, accountability and institutional resilience.
• Develop an executive-level risk governance action plan covering oversight priorities, reporting requirements, escalation procedures and continuous monitoring.
• Strengthen risk governance through effective board committees, independent control functions, internal audit, regulatory compliance and risk culture.
• Interpret financial risk reports, stress-testing results, capital and liquidity indicators, credit exposures and emerging risk trends.
• Evaluate risk appetite statements, risk tolerance limits, key risk indicators and escalation mechanisms against organisational strategy.

Who should attend

Course content

• Module 1: Foundations of Financial Risk Governance The distinction between risk management and risk governance, the relationship between governance and strategy, board oversight responsibilities, executive accountability, risk ownership, institutional ri
• Module 2: Board and Executive Responsibilities for Risk Oversight The role of the board, board risk committee, audit committee and executive management in overseeing material risks. Examine delegation of authority, committee mandates, independent challen
• Module 3: Enterprise Risk Management and Governance Frameworks Applying enterprise risk management principles to strategy, performance and institutional decision-making. Examine the COSO ERM framework, Basel Committee corporate governance principles for
• Module 4: Risk Appetite, Tolerance and Strategic Alignment Developing and reviewing risk appetite statements, defining risk capacity and tolerance, establishing quantitative and qualitative limits, aligning risk-taking with institutional objectives, casc
• Module 5: Credit Risk Governance and Asset Quality Board oversight of lending strategies, credit concentration, underwriting standards, loan portfolio quality, non-performing loans, expected credit losses, collateral management and collections. Examine c
• Module 6: Liquidity, Treasury and Market Risk Oversight Liquidity management, funding concentration, maturity mismatches, interest rate risk, foreign exchange exposure, investment portfolio risks and treasury controls. Participants examine liquidity stre
• Capital planning, capital adequacy indicators, leverage, profitability and risk-weighted exposures, capital conservation, stress-testing outcomes and capital contingency planning. Examine how executive decisions on growth, dividends, lending and investmen
• Module 8: Operational Risk, Internal Controls and Fraud Governance Operational losses, process failures, fraud exposure, misconduct, outsourcing risk, control weaknesses and business continuity. Examine risk and control self-assessments, incident reporti
• Module 9: Regulatory Compliance, Conduct Risk and Accountability Regulatory obligations, compliance governance, anti-money laundering oversight, sanctions controls, customer protection, conflicts of interest, ethical conduct and regulatory reporting. Par
• Cybersecurity oversight, digital fraud, cloud and technology dependencies, data privacy, technology resilience, vendor concentration and third-party service failures. Examine board-level cyber risk reporting, incident escalation, recovery planning, techno
• Module 11: AI, Model Risk and Emerging Financial Risks AI-supported lending, fraud detection, investment analysis and financial decision-making; model validation; algorithmic bias; inaccurate outputs; data quality; explainability; and human oversight. Pa
• Module 12: Risk Reporting, Key Risk Indicators and Executive Dashboards Designing decision-oriented risk reports, selecting key risk indicators, setting thresholds, analysing trends, highlighting emerging exposures and communicating risk concentrations.
• Module 13: Stress Testing, Scenario Analysis and Crisis Preparedness Developing plausible adverse scenarios, assessing the impact of economic downturns, funding pressures, interest rate changes, currency volatility, cyber incidents and credit deteriorati
• Module 14: Risk Culture, Incentives and Executive Accountability Establishing a culture of transparency, ethical behaviour and responsible risk-taking. Examine the influence of remuneration, performance targets, sales incentives, leadership conduct, whis
• Module 15: Risk Assurance, Audit and Remediation Oversight Coordinating risk management, compliance, internal audit and external assurance; reviewing material findings; prioritising remediation; assigning accountable owners; establishing deadlines; valid
• Module 16: Integrated Board Risk Governance Simulation Participants review a simulated institution facing deteriorating loan quality, liquidity pressures, cybersecurity incidents and emerging compliance concerns. They examine the risk dashboard, challeng

General notes

• Through realistic financial-sector case studies, boardroom simulations and risk oversight exercises, participants learn how to challenge management assumptions, interpret risk indicators, evaluate stress-testing results, oversee remediation plans and ensure that institutional risk-taking remains consistent with approved strategy and risk appetite.
• Board members, board risk committee members, chief executive officers, managing directors, chief financial officers, chief risk officers, chief compliance officers, finance directors, internal audit directors, banking executives, insurance executives, investment managers, microfinance and SACCO leaders, treasury managers, financial controllers, enterprise risk managers, corporate governance professionals and senior regulatory affairs officers.
• Practical Exercises and Case Studies Board risk dashboard review: Interpret key risk indicators and identify exposures requiring immediate board attention. Risk appetite assessment: Evaluate whether a proposed expansion strategy exceeds approved risk limits and recommend appropriate conditions or controls. Credit portfolio deterioration: Assess rising non-performing loans and develop a board oversight plan for remediation and improved credit controls. Liquidity stress scenario: Evaluate a sudden deposit outflow and funding shortage, then assess management's contingency response. Cyber incident governance simulation: Review a major digital banking incident, establish escalation priorities and assess recovery, customer communication and regulatory notification responsibilities. AI model risk review: Evaluate governance controls for an AI-assisted lending or fraud detection system, including validation, fairness, explainability and human oversight. Regulatory findings remediation: Review material audit or compliance findings and develop an accountability and closure-monitoring framework. Board risk committee simulation: Conduct a structured review of risk exposures, challenge management recommendations and document decisions, actions and follow-up requirements.
• Practical Outputs Participants will develop a board risk oversight checklist, a risk appetite review template, an executive risk dashboard specification, a financial risk register, a key risk indicator scorecard, a stress-testing scenario assessment, a risk committee reporting template, a remediation tracking matrix, an emerging risk oversight checklist and a board-level risk governance improvement plan.
• Tools and Governance Frameworks COSO Enterprise Risk Management, Basel Committee corporate governance principles for banks, the three lines model, risk appetite statements, risk registers, key risk indicators, risk and control self-assessments, stress-testing templates, board risk dashboards, scenario analysis, incident registers, remediation trackers and enterprise risk reporting frameworks.
• Practical Outputs Participants will develop a board risk oversight checklist, a risk appetite review template, an executive risk dashboard specification, a financial risk register, a key risk indicator scorecard, a stress-testing scenario assessment, a risk committee reporting template, a remediation tracking matrix, an emerging risk oversight checklist and a board-level risk governance improvement plan.

Frequently asked questions

Schedule & fees