Programme overview
Technical depth: Conceptual · Practical mode: Case study
Introduction
AI now appears in almost every strategy paper, investment request and risk report that reaches the boardroom, yet many boards lack a shared view of where AI creates value, how much risk they will accept and what evidence they should expect from management. Oversight becomes either uncritical approval or blanket caution. This Core Concept course gives directors and senior executives the frameworks to set AI ambition, challenge business cases and oversee AI risk. Cases are drawn from several sectors, and participants leave with a Board AI Oversight Charter for their own organisation.
Course Objectives
- Evaluate how AI, generative AI and agentic AI could reshape the organisation's competitive position and operating model
- Apply international governance standards to define the board's and management's respective responsibilities for AI
- Challenge AI investment proposals and portfolio decisions using structured board questions and value evidence
- Set an AI risk appetite and review impact assessments, incidents and third-party exposure at board level
- Oversee AI performance and conduct through a board dashboard and the Three Lines Model
- Produce a Board AI Oversight Charter ready for adoption by the board or executive committee
Target Audience
- Board chairs and non-executive directors responsible for strategic oversight
- Members of board audit, risk and technology committees
- Chief executives and managing directors accountable for enterprise strategy
- C-suite executives responsible for finance, operations, technology, risk and human capital
- Company secretaries and heads of governance who advise boards on oversight arrangements
Course Outline
Day 1: AI and the Strategic Context
- AI, Generative AI and Agentic AI Capabilities Explained for Directors
- Competitive Disruption Scan Using Porter's Five Forces
- Board AI Literacy Self-Assessment
- Enterprise AI Maturity Snapshot: Strategy, Data, Talent and Governance
- Cross-Sector AI Value Evidence: Productivity, Revenue and Service Quality
Day 2: Governance Standards and Principles for AI
- ISO/IEC 38507 Governance Implications of AI for Governing Bodies
- OECD AI Principles as a Reference for Board Policy
- ISO/IEC 42001 AI Management System: What the Board Should Expect to See
- NIST AI RMF Govern Function and Board Accountabilities
- Three Lines Model Applied to AI Oversight
Day 3: Setting Ambition and Directing Investment
- AI Ambition Setting with the Three Horizons Model
- AI Investment Portfolio Review Using Value at Stake and Real Options Thinking
- Board Question Set for Evaluating AI Business Cases
- AI Operating Model Choices: Centralised, Hub-and-Spoke and Federated
- Workforce Implications Using Task-Based Exposure Analysis
Day 4: AI Risk Appetite, Incidents and Exposure
- AI Risk Appetite Statement Aligned to ISO 31000 and COSO ERM
- ISO/IEC 42005 AI System Impact Assessment Results for Board Review
- Generative AI Incident Scenarios: Data Leakage, Hallucination and Deepfake Fraud
- Third-Party and Foundation Model Concentration Risk
- Comparative Regulatory Approaches: Risk-Based, Principles-Based and Sector-Specific Regimes
Day 5: Board Case Work and the Oversight Charter
- Board Case Study: Approving a Customer-Facing Generative AI Launch
- Board Case Study: Responding to an Algorithmic Bias Incident
- Board AI Dashboard Design: Value, Risk and Conduct Indicators
- Board AI Oversight Charter Drafting
- Mock Board Session and Peer Challenge
Skills You Will Gain
- AI Strategic Foresight
- Board-Level AI Governance
- AI Investment Scrutiny
- AI Risk Appetite Setting
- Technology Risk Oversight
- AI Operating Model Design
- Board Reporting Design
Why Attend This Course
- Return to the boardroom with a Board AI Oversight Charter tested in a mock board session
- Ask management the questions that separate a credible AI business case from an optimistic one
- Judge whether the organisation's AI risk exposure sits within the appetite the board has set
- Compare oversight practice with directors and executives from other sectors and countries
Conclusion
Boards cannot delegate AI to technology teams, but nor can they oversee it without a clear framework. This course moves from the strategic effect of AI on the organisation, through the international standards that define board and management responsibilities, to investment decisions, risk appetite, incidents and third-party exposure. The final day turns that material into a Board AI Oversight Charter that participants take back to their board or executive committee, giving them a consistent basis for every AI decision that follows.