CEO Report AICD Review

Increasing resources to meet demand. Demand for AICD education and training courses has been running at unprecedented levels.

In the last financial year we had over 27,000 participants in courses and training programs compared to 21,300 the year earlier. More than 1500 participants undertook the Company Directors Course last year compared to 1200 the previous year. Not only have attendances been strong but participant feedback has been excellent. In the April to June period, 70 percent of residential course attendees rated the course as "exceeding expectations" and 30 percent rated the course as having "met expectations". Success brings boost in resources The success of our education activities has put the AICD in a strong financial position and our National Council has approved a substantial increase in staffing to meet the increased demand. Three new education managers will be appointed in the coming months. These appointments follow a detailed review of the AICD Education Department's role and activities undertaken earlier this year.

Additional staff will enable us to continue to develop new courses and programs to meet the needs of both new and experienced directors. During the next year we will be producing advanced courses to meet the ongoing training needs of members who have completed the Company Directors Course. Our course materials have also been reviewed. During the past 12 months a complete rewrite of all of the modules of the Company Directors Course has been conducted to ensure that the material presented is current, that it deals with the contemporary director issues and that it is written in plain English. New programs for members Recently we have developed and conducted a number of new programs, including the Skills Update program, "Forensic Investigation for Directors". This program provides guidance on recognising early warning signs in accounts and management reports. The "Company Audits: Lifting the Veil" program was developed to increase director and senior management knowledge and understanding of the audit process.

It made its debut in Sydney and will be presented in Melbourne in August. The recent Australian tour of the "Implementing Compliance" program was well received by members. This month also brings the launch of the new program, "Handling Difficult Situations in the Boardroom", a part of our new product development program. AICD State Division staff have also been very active in both developing and providing in-house workshops for companies and boards. These workshops include programs on board effectiveness, board and executive evaluations, and strategic planning. Government CDC scholarships The Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has recently announced a new two-year government/industry scholarship scheme that will provide women working in rural industries with the opportunity to attend the Company Directors Course. The Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Judith Troeth, said that at least 13 scholarships would be offered and, to encourage the involvement of the scholarship holders in rural industries, industry leaders will act as mentors to each participant during the 12 months following their graduation. This Government initiative seeks to increase the professional skills of rural women and build on the 27 per cent of women who hold positions on Commonwealth agricultural boards.

This scholarship follows an earlier program. The department recently sponsored 14 young people from rural and regional Australia to undertake the Company Directors Course as part of the Federal Government's $1.3 million Young People in Rural Industries Initiative. AICD upholds its role as an education provider as part of our role in promoting excellence, enterprise and integrity in the directors of all enterprises. I look forward to reporting on future initiatives aimed at meeting our members' information and education needs.

Disclaimer

The purpose of this database is to provide a full-text record of all articles that have appeared in the CDJ since February 1997. It is aimed to assist in the research and reference process. The database has a full-text index and will enable articles to be easily retrieved.It should be noted that information contained in this database is in pre-publication format only - IT IS NOT THE FINAL PRINTED VERSION OF THE CDJ - therefore there might be slight discrepancies between the contents of this database and the printed CDJ.