The Investment Studies Center (ISC) at Union of Investment Companies (UIC), in cooperation with the Grant Thornton Office – Alqtami, Alaiban & Partners, organized a training program on "Board Secretary - Role, Responsibilities & Tasks In Accordance With Best International Practices" during the period (Monday - Wednesday) 21st - 23rd October 2019 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm at Residence Inn Hotel, Kuwait City, where the program was presented by Mr. Emad Al Hussein.
Ms. Fadwa Darwish, ISC Acting Director & Director of Technical Support at UIC reported that in light of the corporate governance rules issued by the Central Bank of Kuwait and the Capital Markets Authority, the Secretary of the Board of Directors has become one of the key roles that help to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of the Board meetings, and ensuring activating decisions by categorizing and following them up as required.
Mr. Hazem Esmat Al-Ajez from Grant Thornton Management and Economic Consultancy added that the training program dealt with several key issues starting from corporate governance and the role of the board secretary in the follow-up of its application in addition to the structure of the board of directors and committees and their responsibilities. The course also tackled the main tasks of the board secretary in their comprehensive concept, which is no longer limited to registering, coordinating and preserving the minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors, providing the required data and documents, but also playing a pivotal role in organizing the work of the Board and forming its specialized committees, in addition to his/her primary role in ensuring that the Board of Directors implement the rules of corporate governance as stipulated in the instructions of the supervisory authorities to serve the development of the Board's work and facilitate matters and follow up the implementation plans of decisions through the executive management of the company.
For his part, the speaker and lecturer, Mr. Emad Al-Hussein, who has more than 15 years of practical experience in this field, said that this workshop aimed to develop the basic knowledge and the necessary skills to ensure the professionalism of the board secretary and his/her duties to ensure the effectiveness of the Board of Directors comparing with the international best practices, which enable the board secretary to supervise and follow up the Board's decisions effectively and submitting the necessary reports to the Board members. He pointed that the training program outlined the basic procedures and tools to ensure the full and effective efficiency of the Board's practices and best practices related to governance and its frameworks within the scope of work, as well as other several themes.
The program aimed at sensitizing the participants on the importance of the role of the Board Secretary and developing his/her skills, through focusing on practical studies and group discussions and linking them to practical reality.
At the end of the training program, certificates were given to the participants.