All tabletop exercises
Email / BEC·Intermediate·Executive audience
The CEO's voice asks for an urgent transfer
The prompt — read this to the room
The group financial controller takes a call from what sounds exactly like the CEO, who is travelling. He says a confidential acquisition must close today, the lawyers will email instructions, and nobody else can know yet. Minutes later an email arrives from an outside law firm with wire details for €1.9 million and a signed letter of intent. The controller is uneasy and calls the CEO's mobile, which goes to voicemail. A voice note then arrives from an unknown number, in the CEO's voice, repeating the request. The bank cut-off is in 45 minutes. What should happen?
Total duration
1 h 30 min
People to involve
6
Best fit
Finance, Manufacturing
Who to involve
Most important first.
- CFO / Finance
- CEO / Managing director
- CISO / Head of security
- Legal counsel
- Board member
- Communications / PR
What it tests
- Test whether payment controls hold under authority, urgency and secrecy pressure.
- Agree an out-of-band verification method that does not depend on recognising a voice or face.
- Decide how executives back staff who refuse a request that appears to come from the top.
- Plan the response if the payment has already been released.
Outline of activities
- 1The call and the 45-minute window
- 2Which controls apply, and which can be bypassed
- 3If the money has gone
- 4Backing the people who say no
- 5Hot wash
Run sheet (Pro)
The facilitator's timeline of execution, the detailed steps for running the session and the questions to ask each person.
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