In the director's chair: the Directors College ushers in a new era of senior executive professional training--focusing on board dynamics as much as regulations for a balanced perspective.

If the new corporate governance rules established in Canada and the U.S. are strictly enforced, life is going to become more complicated for directors of public companies. It will also mean that many companies will be looking for fresh ideas and new faces for their boardrooms--for directors who can manage relationships among the many different stakeholders in a company's operations.

The new Directors College, a joint venture of The Conference Board of Canada and the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, hopes to supply that solid governance expertise for the future. It will be Canada's first centre for comprehensive professional development of corporate directors, and will offer Canada's only accredited professional designation for corporate directors, the "Chartered Director" (C.Dir.).

The College is attempting to distinguish itself by maintaining a respectable distance between itself and membership-based associations of corporate directors in Canada. This gives it the freedom to be independent-minded, provocative and to bring fresh perspectives to the table. It is outside the establishment, which its founders consider a distinct advantage.

The primary goal of the College is to provide an educational program, but it also hopes to act as a change agent. As a canny outside influence, it hopes to address the elements of complacency that remain in the director's commnity to create meaningful and sustained governance reform.

This, of course, will mean addressing the "soft" as well as the "hard" side of the directorship role. The hard skills include precisely what you would expect from such a course: the legal and regulatory environment; compensation issues; financial management and auditing issues; codes of ethics; the formal ground rules of directors' roles and responsibilities, etc. The soft skills include board dyamics, board behaviour and the informal side of the interplay between board and management.

It's in the soft skill department that things often go wrong. Why are some board members effective in their relationships with management while others are not? Why are some management teams successful in keeping their boards complacent and reactive, rather than questioning and proactive? These are the types of questions that the College intends to cover.

It will also explore the board member's double role in corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR here refers to expanding the corporation's accountability from shareholders to the full range of stakeholders. Are board members equipped to play the role of mediator between shareholders and management, and between stakeholders and management? The College hopes to answer this question positively.

The College will have an eclectic faculty, including sitting and former directors; legal, accounting, compensation and communications professionals; top-flight academics from Canada and the U.S., as well as Conference Board and McMaster staff.

The College is sponsored by CMA Canada and Ernst & Young and has also been endorsed by several other governance leaders, including: Michael Wilson and David Beatty of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG); Dale Richmond, president and CEO of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS); and The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA).

"We see our involvement in The Directors College as a major investment in corporate governance education," said Bob Dye, President and CEO, CMA Canada. "It supports our commitment to enhancing the competitiveness of organizations through the application of advanced management accounting practices. It also offers CMAs who have been appointed to a corporate board, or are about to make such a move, access to an innovative professional development opportunity."

As part of its sponsorship, CMA Canada is providing direct input into the design of the program, including modules addressing strategic planning and evaluation, risk management, and corporate performance measures. CMA Canada representatives are also being appointed to the college's advisory board and operational committees.

"The Directors College should contribute significantly to the reinforcement of the educational background of board members, something we strongly support at OMERS," said Dale Richmond. "The program is well thought out, the content is comprehensive--both board members and corporations will benefit from The Directors College."

Adds David H. Broom, principal of governance and board issues for The Conference Board of Canada: "These are exciting times and we will soon see great support for director accreditation in Canada--its time has come."

The program consists of five sessions, with each session taking two days to complete. The inaugural course takes place in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, in November. The next available session is in February 2004. For information about registering for The Directors College visit www.thedirectorscollege.com.