Agenda topics, timing, and speakers subject to change.
October 10, 2024 | 11:30 am - 4:00 pm Eastern
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM EASTERN
Corporate Governance and the Charismatic Leader | Workshop 1
Charismatic leaders can inspire their people and lead them to enviable growth. But charismatic leadership also has a dark side. To better protect an organization from fraud it is essential to understand:
- What behaviors do charismatic leaders display? When they act with corrupt intent, how are they able to tap into stakeholders’ deepest fears and insecurities?
- The correlation between charismatic leadership and the stakeholder group’s failure to catch warning signs for fraudulent behavior.
- Analysis of case stories on recent governance failures such as at FTX and Theranos.
- Leadership vs. Systemic problems arguments.
- How good people go bad - what human behaviors caused the fraud and the panic that ensued (missed red flags)?
- Best practices to identify corruption and safeguard your organization against charismatic leaders (inoculation against corruption, conflicts of interest).
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM EASTERN
Break
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM EASTERN
Governance Synthesis | Workshop 2
Tying the concepts from the previous workshops together, we’ll be sharing Governance case stories from family businesses to illustrate how lessons learned can be put into action, as a way to help you master your new healthy governance habits.
Family businesses make up a large percentage of companies in the United States and they contribute a large percentage of the country’s GDP. Sadly, several studies have found that because they are trust-based, and have weak internal controls, they're more vulnerable to occupational fraud than other companies. But there are strong lessons to be learned from how these family businesses have created more fraud-resistant organizations that everyone can learn from. We’ll share insights into:
- Relating Governance and Fraud Risk.
- Why family businesses could be more susceptible to fraud.
- Who typically commits fraud in a family business – hint, expect the unexpected.
- What types of fraud to consider.
- Tips and best practices for implementing better controls over assets and data.
November 7, 2024 | 11:30 am - 4:00 pm Eastern
11:30 AM - 1:30 PM EASTERN
Governance Implemented and Measured | Workshop 3
In creating a fraud-resistant organization, by only addressing "the numbers”, the touchy-feely matters that are more emotional, like culture, burn-out, or employee resentment, remain hidden and neglected. These unaddressed matters then enable fraud to flourish and continue to harm the organization. Recognizing what is psychologically material to employees and customers provides an enlightened senior leadership team a strong competitive advantage. “It ain’t what you don’t know that kills you; what kills you is what you think you know, but ain’t so.” – Mark Twain
- What is psychological materiality and how can we use the concept to mitigate fraud?
- Insight on what happened at Silicon Valley, First Republic, and Signature Bank – with a focus on the human side of these financial disasters;
- How does a Board relate to the CEO and CFO?
- How does an organization support values-based leadership?
- What checks and balances were missing or abused?
- Would active sensitivity to psychological materiality have helped? How?
- How do you protect your organization against fraud (culture, inoculation, taking ethical temperature)?
1:30 PM - 2:00 PM EASTERN
Break
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM EASTERN
The Governance Landscape of Authority, Influence, and Fraud | Workshop 4
When it comes to fraud, a big blind spot for Executive Teams is the notion that “Fraud won’t happen here, and certainly not by our Executives.” However, as Lord Acton points out, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts, absolutely.” In this workshop, executives will gain insight on:
- The differences between power and legitimate authority.
- Executive management fit with fiduciary responsibility (the Board of Directors).
- How these four elements relate to Fraud.
- The optimal CEO-CFO relationship, with proper Board oversight, for a healthy, more fraud-resistant organization.
- How power (and politics) is used to intimidate and control within organizations.
- Tips/advice to make your organization more Executive-level fraud-resistant, including tips for the Board in fraud risk management and mitigation.
Back to Power in the C-Suite Workshop Series