Company Directors' Course non-residential

Experience the same high-quality course without the overnight accommodation. Attend each day and return home in the evenings – giving you flexibility while still benefiting from the full course content.

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Course description

The Company Directors' Course (CDC) is the benchmark for directors and senior leaders reporting to boards. It is also a pre-requisite to becoming a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors. 

Over five and a half intensive days, you’ll explore the roles and responsibilities of directors alongside your peers. Through daily boardroom simulations and case studies, you’ll experience the realities of governance – from unpredictable business challenges to the human dynamics of decision-making. This hands-on approach strengthens your judgement, broadens your perspective and builds your confidence to effectively contribute at the board table.

However, the value of CDC extends far beyond skill-building. Participants frequently describe the course as a turning point in their governance journey, citing personal growth, lasting networks across the governance community and accelerated career opportunities.

The non-residential option gives you the full CDC experience while offering the flexibility to return home at the end of each day. It’s designed for directors who want to balance intensive learning with their family, work or other commitments. You’ll still gain the same rigorous course learnings as with the residential option – but with the freedom to step back into your everyday routine each evening. Accommodation is not included.

Some Company Directors' Courses' have a mixture of residential and non-residential placements.

The CDC is challenging so we strongly recommend taking the full week off from work or other responsibilities, whether you take the residential or non-residential option.

Course content

The CDC is a simulated board exercise. On a given day, you work with 4-5 other board members addressing a scenario such as company solvency. In the afternoon, you test your assumptions and decisions with the full group and compare to New Zealand case studies on solvency. 

Topics covered during the course include:

Best practice corporate governance

  • Corporate governance principles, rules and protocols
  • Governance skills


Strategy in the boardroom

  • Strategy and strategic thinking
  • Board and strategy development
  • Monitoring and reviewing implementation
  • Refreshing strategy and innovation


Finance and the board’s role

  • High-level meaning in financial statements and reports
  • Interpreting reports
  • Financial planning
  • Making investment appraisals
  • Understanding company valuations


Directors and the law

  • Directors' legal obligations, liabilities and mitigating legal risks
  • Directors’ and officers’ insurance


Board dynamics and culture

  • Board role in developing culture, ethics and values
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • Board dynamics
  • Leadership and CEO succession
  • Board and CEO review


Risk governance

  • Risk management concepts
  • Risk appetite
Information session
Also check out the article So you want to be a director? by Cathy Parker from Management Magazine where she investigates the Company Directors' Course as the key prerequisite for directorship.
Cost

Non-residential investment:
Members: $8,210.00 incl GST
Non-members: $10,290.00 incl GST

Who should attend

Directors and senior executives with at least one to five years' experience of working on or with boards, and a sound knowledge of business finance.

If you are unsure whether you meet the prerequisites for the Company Directors’ Course or have any other questions, please call our team on 0800 846 369 or contact us on governancedevelopment@iod.org.nz

Other Company Directors' Course options
Residential   |   Rarotonga
Public courses delivered in-house

Any of the courses that the IoD delivers publicly can be delivered in-house for your whole board, management team or governance stakeholders, with a facilitator who can contextualise the delivery to your organisation and sectors. To enquire, please click here.