About
The aim of this module is to provide advanced knowledge and key skills necessary for the company secretary or governance professional to act as chief adviser to the board and other stakeholders on best practice in corporate governance, and as the facilitator for systematic application across a wide range of organisations.
After successful completion of this module you should:
- Be able to research and critically apply the growing global, regional and local information sources on corporate governance.
- Be able to advise on the duties of directors as well as the role, membership, composition and effectiveness of the board, within legal and regulatory frameworks.
- Be able to apply the concepts of disclosure in terms of accountability, transparency, corporate social responsibility, ethical standards and sustainability in governance.
- Be able to critically appraise and apply corporate governance principles and best practices in risk management for the board in the employing or client organisation.
- Be able to exercise appropriate judgment in the use of professional knowledge and skills to the resolution of practical issues and problems in the proper governance of an organisation.
Study text
If you have not yet downloaded your study text for this module and need it urgently, please email enquiries@cgi.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7580 4741 during business hours.Guidance for June 2021 examination
We have issued an addendum to the Corporate Governance study text to cover the UK Stewardship Code 2020.
You will need to use this if you are preparing for Corporate Governance at the June 2021 examinations.
The addendum is an update to the content in Chapter 14, Section 8 of the study text – UK Stewardship Code – pages 391 to 396. You can read the addendum instead of this section of the text.
Exam material
In the table below you will find:
- Exam paper - this is the paper that was set at the exam session
- Mark scheme - this is the document markers used to assess students' answers
- Examiner's report - this is the examiner's comment on the examination performance
- Student answers - for some sessions we can show examples of answers students wrote in the examination
- Pass rates - These pass rates refer to exams from the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and Associated Territories (all territories administered by the Chartered Governance Institute’s office in London).
| Exam session | Exam paper | Mark scheme | Examiner's report | Student answers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2023 | View | View | View | |
| November 2022 | View | View | View | Not available |
| June 2022 | View | View | View | Not available |
| November 2021 | View | View | View | |
| June 2021 | View | View | View | |
| November 2020 | View | View | View | Exam paper 1 Exam paper 2 |
| November 2019 | View | View | View | Question 12 (fail) Question 12 (merit) Question 12 (distinction) |
| Sample paper | View | View | n/a | |
| Pass rates | View |
You are able to view resources from the previous version of the Qualifying Programme in the ‘Archive’ tab above.
Webinars
We deliver study support webinars covering topics ranging from planning your study, exam strategy and techniques and Corporate Governance webinars delivered by the examiner or subject matter expert. You will get details of upcoming webinars via email. Each session is recorded and can be found below.
- Corporate Governance revision webinar and slides for November 2023 session.
- Corporate Governance revision webinar and slides for June 2023 session.
- Corporate Governance revision webinar and slides for June 2022 session
- Corporate Governance examiner webinar, slides and Q&A for November 2020 session. The examiner analysed questions from the recent exam session and provided guidance on exam strategy. You can view the student answers in the 'Exam material' tab above.
- Planning study: organisation and techniques February 2020 recording and slides. This webinar provides guidance on organising study and time management, reading from the study text, note-taking, writing skills and how to use past exam papers and examiners' reports to help you prepare.
Archive
The previous version of the Qualifying Programme, the Chartered Secretaries Qualifying Scheme (CSQS), ran from June 2011 to June 2019. Some of the modules were very similar to the content of the new Qualifying Programme, particularly the strategy, governance, corporate law and secretarial practice content.
You may find it useful to refer to this material while preparing for your studies, but please remember this material has not been updated since the exam was set; also, remember that the new exams have a different format to CSQS exam papers.
Past papers
| Exam session | Exam paper | Suggested answers | Student answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2019 | View | View | |
| November 2018 | View | View | |
| June 2018 | View | View | |
| November 2017 | View | View | |
| June 2017 | View | View | |
| November 2016 | View | View | |
| June 2016 | View | View |
Response to question 1 |
Webinars
- Corporate Governance revision webinar and slides for November 2023 session.
- Corporate Governance revision webinar and slides for June 2023 session.
- Corporate Governance examiner webinar and slides for November 2018.
- CSQS Exam Day tips webinar and slides for June 2018 - this session dealt with exam day practicalities.
- Corporate Governance examiner webinar and slides from November 2017. Please use the password cg2017 to access this webinar.
- Exam strategy webinar from November 2017. This session dealt with exam techniques, what you can learn from the examiners’ reports and reminders for exam day. Please use the link to view the recording.
- Exam strategy webinar from November 2016.