Social Media has evolved to become a key strategic business imperative. It is no longer just about friends, networks, likes, posts, sharing, tweets or re-tweeting. Year-in, year-out social media numbers are shooting through the roofs. Social media is radically shifting business engagements. It is anticipated that by 2017 over 5 billion people will be using Social Media. Social Media is expected to unlock value in excess of $1.3 trillion in the coming years. Its role in corporate business continues to expand and overtake traditional business models and tools. Social media creates opportunities to listen to, engage with stakeholders, and even build new businesses for far less cost than traditional models. Social Media has become pervasive in supporting and enabling the strategy of organisations and this prevalence mandates the governance and auditing of Social Media as an organizational imperative. Top organizations are realising the business potential for using social media to stimulate innovation, creating brand recognition, hiring and retaining employees, generating revenue and creating ultra customer convenient experience personalised in real time. Boards and audit committees should no longer be asking if social media will be used by the company; instead they should be asking if social media are being used and managed across the enterprise to deliver enterprise value and manage risk. Social media oversight is a full-board issue which should not be limited only to an Audit or Risk Committee. Directors risk their own relevance if they don’t catch social media issues. It is critically important to have someone who is technologically proficient on the board, someone who knows how to think about social media and move it forward to help inform the board’s deliberations. Boards, Senior and Executive Management can no longer afford to relegate social media to marketing or IT functions.

Course Objectives