Financial Governance and Oversight of State-Owned Enterprises Training Course

Introduction
State-Owned Enterprises play a central role in delivering essential public services, driving industrial development, and supporting national economic priorities, yet weak financial governance often exposes governments to significant fiscal and operational risks. This training course is designed to strengthen institutional capacity to oversee SOE finances with professionalism, transparency, and accountability.
Participants will gain a deep understanding of the financial, legal, and governance frameworks that define effective SOE oversight. The course links corporate governance principles with public sector accountability requirements to ensure that state-owned entities operate sustainably while meeting both commercial and public interest objectives.
The program emphasizes practical financial analysis, enabling participants to interpret SOE financial statements, identify performance gaps, and detect early warning signs of financial distress. This allows oversight institutions to intervene early and protect public resources from inefficiency, mismanagement, and excessive fiscal exposure.
Given the growing fiscal risks associated with guarantees, subsidies, and bailouts, the course integrates SOE oversight with national fiscal risk management and medium-term budget frameworks. Participants will learn how to quantify, monitor, and report SOE-related liabilities in line with international best practice.
Emerging issues such as climate-related financial disclosure, digital financial reporting, and public-private partnerships are fully integrated into the curriculum. This ensures participants are prepared to oversee modern SOEs operating in complex, highly regulated, and increasingly technology-driven environments.
By the end of the course, participants will be equipped to design robust oversight systems, strengthen financial discipline, and promote good governance that enhances SOE performance, public trust, and long-term national development outcomes.

Who Should Attend

• Officials from Ministries of Finance, Treasury, and Economic Planning
• SOE board members and senior management
• Public sector auditors and internal audit professionals
• Parliamentary committees and oversight bodies
• Regulators and state corporations advisory units
• Public financial management and budget officers
• Development finance and public investment professionals
• Corporate governance and compliance specialists
• Anti-corruption and integrity officers
• Policy analysts and consultants in public enterprise reform

Duration

5 days

Course Objectives

• Equip participants with advanced knowledge of financial governance frameworks that ensure state-owned enterprises operate transparently, efficiently, and in alignment with public policy objectives.
• Strengthen participant capacity to analyze SOE financial statements, budgets, and performance reports in order to detect inefficiencies, risks, and potential fiscal exposure.
• Develop the ability to design and implement effective oversight mechanisms that promote accountability, ethical leadership, and sound financial management in SOEs.
• Enable learners to identify, quantify, and manage fiscal risks arising from SOE debt, government guarantees, and contingent liabilities.
• Improve understanding of board responsibilities, shareholder roles, and reporting requirements for strengthening financial discipline and governance in public enterprises.
• Build skills in assessing investment projects, borrowing plans, and subsidy requirements to ensure SOE financial sustainability and value for money.
• Enhance capacity to apply international standards on financial reporting, audit, and disclosure within the context of state-owned enterprises.
• Support participants in integrating SOE financial oversight into national fiscal frameworks, public investment management, and budget processes.
• Develop competencies in monitoring restructuring, turnaround, and privatization initiatives from a financial governance and public interest perspective.
• Enable participants to formulate evidence-based policy recommendations that improve SOE performance, reduce fiscal burdens, and strengthen public sector accountability.

Comprehensive Course Outline

Module 1: Role and Mandate of State-Owned Enterprises

• Economic and social objectives of SOEs
• Legal and institutional frameworks
• Ownership and shareholder arrangements
• Public versus commercial mandates

Module 2: Financial Governance Frameworks

• Principles of public sector corporate governance
• Accountability and transparency mechanisms
• Oversight roles of ministries and boards
• Financial control systems

Module 3: SOE Financial Reporting and Analysis

• Interpreting financial statements
• Performance and ratio analysis
• Cash flow and liquidity management
• Identifying financial distress

Module 4: Budgeting and Performance Management

• Corporate planning and budgeting
• Performance contracts and KPIs
• Subsidies and transfers
• Monitoring and evaluation systems

Module 5: Fiscal Risks and Contingent Liabilities

• Government guarantees and SOE debt
• Quasi-fiscal activities
• Bailouts and restructuring costs
• Risk disclosure and reporting

Module 6: Internal Controls and Audit

• Internal audit functions
• External audit and compliance
• Fraud prevention and integrity systems
• Financial accountability frameworks

Module 7: Investment, Borrowing, and Treasury Management

• Capital investment appraisal
• Debt management in SOEs
• Treasury and cash management
• Government approval processes

Module 8: Emerging Governance and ESG Issues

• Climate and sustainability reporting
• Digital finance and e-reporting
• Gender and social governance
• ESG risk integration

Module 9: SOE Reform and Restructuring

• Financial turnaround strategies
• Privatization and PPPs
• Corporate restructuring models
• Stakeholder and labor considerations

Module 10: Integrated Oversight and Policy Coordination

• Centralized ownership models
• Whole-of-government reporting
• Inter-agency coordination
• Policy reform and case studies

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, guided tour and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808

Terms of Payment

Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better