Feedback and helpful hints to successfully pass the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), Company Directors' Course.

The AICD Company Directors' Course:

PART:

1. Is the AICD Company Directors' Course worth the investment?
2. My reasons for investing in myself.
3. My reflections along the way, and
4. My reviews after the course.
5. Release of my extensive summarized notes and cheat sheet, derived from 30 practice quizzes and 30 practice exams and the "AniMal" assigment.

PART 1. Is the AICD Company Directors' Course worth the investment?

I embarked on completing the AICD Company Directors' Course at the end of January 2024, with the in person and on-site intensive five (5) days course at the AICD, Melbourne Office in 367 Collin St.

I thought it might be useful to video-record my study habits, document in writing and share my experience along the way to inspire others who may be considering undertaking the same professional development journey.

Firstly, as an emerging executive, currently in stealth mode, and rebuilding after protracted lived experience with family violence, and a decade of defending family law proceedings, homelessness, and as a female founder leading a boutique consultancy firm and start-ups, the course was a considerable financial investment.

Format

Face to Face Members $8,800

5 Days Non-Members $11,900

Face To Face Members $11,825

5 Days Non-Members $14, 925

Residential

Online - Virtual Members $5,300

Self-Paced Non-Members $7,300

Over 6 months

Secondly, the course is a big investment of your time if you are a very busy executive, manager or already a Board Director. I was all three (3) of the abovementioned, plus being a MBA/JD postgraduate student, litigant and mother, when I enrolled with trepidation. Despite being more expensive, I had chosen to participate in the intensive five (5) days course (due to my professional time constraints and schedules, in order to complete it as quickly as I can), right after New Year, in the hope that my professional schedule would be lighter. It was not!

From previous participants and my own experience, a minimum of approximately 80 hours of pre-reading of the 2 x 8 kg Black Binders were required to be completed within the 6 weeks prior to attending the intensive five (5) full days on-site. And they were intensive!

And there were many more hours needed to be invested if you choose, like I did, to undertake to successfully pass all three (3) compulsory components (with minimum passing scores of 65% in each); the written assignment, multiple choice quizz and the open book exam, within twelve (12) weeks after completion of the course, to become a Graduate member of the AICD, and to be able to use and show off the well-deserved shiny new postnominals, GAICD.

So approximately over 150-200 hours or more in total.

Pre-Course

I received my 2 black binders by courier and access to the identity course material online via the Pulse app, a week prior to Christmas Day last year. After New Year, I was advised by the AICD that incorrect folders were sent out by mistake. The correct folders were received a week after its notification by email. Two (2) weeks of reading time to peruse the hard copy materials were lost, but we have had access to the correct online materials on the Pulse app. So not a big deal.

But in all honesty, due to initially still being mentally and emotionally in holiday mode and taking a much-needed mental health break, and then focusing on other hustles and start-ups as female founder, juggling too many balls as my sister will constantly tell me, and studying for other accreditations such as the SnowFlake SnowCore Pro, CyberSecurity, or otherwise, just daydreaming, I was too busy procrastinating to open the binders and to log onto the Pulse app.

I actually opened the 2 x 8 kg Black Binders, seven (7) days prior to the commencement of the intensive five (5) days course in Melbourne, 29 January – 2 February 2024. Personally, I have always preferred to study with hard copies because I like the sensation of physically flipping over papers as I study. I find studying materials online very difficult to digest and memorize. So I was grateful that the AICD did provide both options of hard copies and online materials.

I then had to recall my lessons in speed reading, having perfected the skills from my younger days of being an expert procrastinator!

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I also had a teen to feed during school holidays. Thank goodness for the virtual babysitter in the form of the Nintendo Switch gaming console and an online family membership subscription for the cousins to entertain themselves remotely. ?

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I was told prior to my participation that you will get more out of the sessions and will be able to engage and participate more effectively with the groups if you, at least as a minimum, have read the case studies, especially the assignment case studies (that you will need to select out of two options. I chose the "AniMal" assignment option).

I would concur with this excellent advice and actually wished that I had heed the advice more myself. I often hid in the corner of my allocated group during the course, because I felt I had not read that day's material in depth or done it justice, or was very quiet during discussion, from the Facilitors' feedback. Me quiet! Imagine that! I keep trying to convince people of this fact for years, that I am an introvert and very shy!

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Anyway, given my enormous personal financial and time investment in myself, I did set aside and wholly committed myself to the necessary time to focus and re-read through the course materials in depth, and recorded my journey and experience for a YouTube video, and in written journal form, after the course while I studied for the assessments.

My strategy and tactics to successfully pass the assessments were to be exposed to and practise every board scenario and questions that the AICD could muster up.

I decided to sit 30 practice quizzes and 30 practice exams, and meticulously dissected and wrote a summary for each one, and categorized them into each section of the assessments:

1. Governance and the Practice of Directorship

2. The Legal Environment

3. Risk and Strategy

4. Financial Literacy and Performance

My strategy and tactics of having summarized everything into extensive cheat notes sheet, may seem a little intense and excessive to some. People who may have met me, will know that I am playful, fun, and sarcastically wicked with a cutting wit.

But I do take my professional roles, work and advocacy for my mission goals and purposes on behalf of Companies, Organizations and the Boards, upon which I sit and govern, extremely seriously. I can be very intense, obsessive and I have the courage needed to make very tough decisions, for whatever is needed to succeed, in any areas for which I am in charge and that I am focused.

My preparation strategy and tactics did help me to pass in the end with one attempt. Due to an extremely busy schedule, and often the lack of energy, confidence and motivation (I am only human) of wearing too many hats, I took the huge risk to sit the assessments on the very last day of the allowable 12 weeks after the course, to submit the assigment and sat the exam, within 30 minutes of closing time at 11.59pm of the assessment online portals.

I would not recommended this. This was not one of my smartest nor proudest decisions, nor what I would now readily admit, was appropriate management of risks, that would be expected of a board director, to give up the chance of a second attempt, and potentially blowing the opportunity of a goal I had passionately set for myself, to achieve for my professional development and governance career.

Perhaps I can now finally take off my Imposter Syndrome hat in the Executive C-Suite as a Female Founder and Entrepreneur!

Personally and professionally for me, the AICD Company Directors' Course was well worth the financial and time investment. It expanded and extended my advanced knowledge and skill sets as a Board Director, it increased my level of confidence in my ability and capability to effectively serve the Boards, upon which I sit or will sit in the future, with due diligence, accountability and enhanced expertise.

If you were like me, and think that you have limited or restrictive time for the course, I am here to say that it is doable to successfully pass with flying colours, if you avoid the potential pitfalls and use my extensive summarized cheat notes.

More importantly, the new friendships and new colleagues that I have made, within the course, and through my membership to the AICD and now a select group of Graduate of AICD, are priceless, as I embark on my next leg of my journey, to be of service for greater impact and to leave my lasting legacy, to assist in the creation of a more equitable, equal, cleaner, kinder and safer world for my children and yours.

I hope that at least one person will find these articles helpful to learn from my mistakes, and experience for their own personal success journey when they embark on undertaking the Company Directors’ Course, and to successfully pass the assessments, with the Order of Merits. ???

** Part 2, 3, 4 and 5 to be continued.