Programme Overview
Stepping into the boardroom means stepping into ultimate accountability for an organisation’s financial health. Under Malaysia’s Companies Act 2016, directors are responsible for ensuring proper accounting records, effective internal controls, and financial statements prepared in line with approved standards with serious consequences for breaches. For aspiring directors, this means financial accountability cannot be delegated, and “I’m not a finance person” is not a defensible position once you hold a board seat.
Governance expectations reinforce this responsibility. The Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance 2021 emphasises that directors must be able to understand financial statements and form a view on the information presented, while audit committee members must be financially literate and able to challenge management. For listed companies, Bursa Malaysia’s Listing Requirements also impose strict reporting timelines, where late or inaccurate disclosures can trigger regulatory action and penalties, including against individual directors.
Beyond compliance, boards are expected to interpret the numbers—not merely receive them. Directors must be able to read the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement, understand performance and liquidity signals, and identify red flags such as weakening cash conversion, rising leverage, aggressive accounting judgments, or unexplained variances. Recent high-profile market cases have shown how strong headline growth can mask deeper issues in cash flow, working capital, debt management and audit quality until the consequences become severe.
This 8-hour, in-person programme builds a practical foundation in board-level financial literacy for aspiring directors. Using Malaysian laws, governance codes and real market scenarios, participants will demystify financial statements, grasp key ratios and cash flow indicators, and practise spotting financial warning signs from a director’s perspective. Participants will leave better prepared to ask the right questions, challenge constructively, and understand what financial stewardship truly requires in the boardroom.
Who Should Attend
Sitting Directors and Senior Directors of PLCs, GLCs, financial institutions, private and family-owned companies.
Board Chairs, Committee Chairs and Lead/Senior Independent Directors who play a key role in shaping the board–management relationship.
Executive Directors and CEOs who also sit on boards and wish to sharpen the way they engage with their own boards and leadership teams.
Nominee and representative directors of GLICs, institutional investors or strategic shareholders who must balance multiple expectations in the board–management interface.
Learning Outcome
By the end of this programme, participants will be able to:
Explain the core financial responsibilities of directors under the Companies Act 2016, MCCG 2021 and (for listed companies) Bursa Listing Requirements, and describe the consequences of non-compliance.
Read and interpret the three primary financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement) and relate them to business performance and viability.
Identify key financial ratios and indicators (margins, returns, liquidity, working capital, cash flow quality, debt levels) and use them to spot potential red flags that warrant board-level questions.
Draw lessons from real Malaysian cases on how weak financial oversight can escalate into regulatory sanctions, loss of value and personal exposure for directors and what aspiring directors should start doing now to prepare.
