Articles

Inside Tips for Creating a Strategic Board

This article was written by Elise Sernik and Barb Barkley of Leadership Space Many leaders want to create a better board for their organisation but are stumped as to how to go about it in a way that fits with their values. Whether you are a Chair, Director or CEO, the prospect of trying to take your board on a journey of self-improvement leaves many people feeling some combination of wary, overwhelmed and even just plain queasy!

Distressed Balance Sheets – The Board’s Role

“Things are pretty tough in the market these days”. How often do we hear that? I’ve rarely heard anyone say over the years that “conditions are ideal right now”. Whether you are a commercial business or NFP organisation, staying in business is tough. Cash is hard to come by from government, donations or trading activity, so it’s inevitable that financial challenges arise from time to time in many organisations. In some cases, this can be an isolated hiccup, but in other, it is the sign of a more serious structural failing of the organisation’s finances.

Why Good Boards Behave Badly - Improving Your Board’s Performance Through Best Practice Boardroom Behaviours

High-performing boards know that organisational sustainability is reliant upon vigilant monitoring of key performance indicators. Similarly, boards need to review their performance against best practice governance frameworks. However, one critical corporate governance indicator of best practice is often overlooked. The unexpected board performance indicator In 2009, Sir David Walker1 reviewed corporate governance in UK banks in light of corporate collapses. The terms of reference for the review were broad with the government seeking recommendations for a framework for best practice corporate governance.

UPDATED – ATO Putting NFPs to the Test: Two Additional Tests for Income Tax Exemption

The Australian Taxation Office (“ATO”) released the final version of its Taxation Ruling on the two additional tests for income tax exemption for NFPs in TR 2015/1 on 25 February 2015. This article is an updated version of an article published in the Better Boards Newsletter of 9 February 2015, which deals with the predecessor Draft Ruling TR 2014/D5. Read the original article. In June 2013 the then Labor Federal Government amended the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (“the Tax Act”) to introduce two additional tests which NFPs need to satisfy for income tax exemption.

ATO Putting NFPs to the Test: Two Additional Tests for Income Tax Exemption

Please note: An updated version of this article that discusses the final version of the Ruling issued on 25 February 2015 as TR 2015/1 Income Tax: special conditions for various entities whose ordinary and statutory income is exempt is now available. Read the updated version. In June 2013 the then Labor Federal Government amended the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (“the Tax Act”) to introduce two additional tests which NFPs need to satisfy for income tax exemption.

It’s Not in the Tea Leaves – It’s in the Minutes

The ubiquitous Board Agenda and its progeny, the Minutes are often assigned to a spring back folder and buried on a shelf somewhere. A board meeting and its record, once distributed, approved and stored, can take on an inert, colourless and even meaningless hue only fit for the corporate archives. The Minutes rarely engender much interest let alone controversy except for the anally retentive member who salivates over grammatical boo boos or misspellings.

The Critical Dos and Don’ts of NFP Board Recruitment

We have all struggled with recruitment and we know that the smaller our organisation the greater our responsibility to get it right. We also know that many more people today are keen to find a board role so identifying the right candidate is even more challenging. In my experience there are a couple of overarching principles that guide the appointment of directors: First, candidate skills and experience must closely match the position requirements without compromise, as your board needs the best new director available.

Information Flow is the New Cash Flow

Information flow is the new cash flow, quite literally, in the case of electronic funds transfer. More metaphorically, in the case of the myriad of electronic transactions collecting, storing and analysing data or those that carry conversations to plan and make decisions. In both cases, if the flow stops, the organisation stops. Yet Information and Communications Technology (ICT) governance lags far behind fiscal governance in most organisations. It begins and ends with minimising costs, fretting about social media and obtaining (often untested) assurances that the back-ups are regularly taken.

Developing the Next Generation of ‘Givers’

When I was young it was normal for our family and friends to spend time helping a friend build a shed, dig a garden for our elderly neighbours, share a feast of home grown fruit or vegetables, invite newcomers to a welcome bar-b-q and to visit others who had exciting and different foods to share – especially “exotic” Greek or Italian food. Our spare time activities revolved around community – winter and summer sports, community action and fundraising, local art groups, local theatre etc.

How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love the Risk

Fact: ‘My name is Trent and I take risks.’ While this may sound like a paradoxical statement given the inherent conservatism of my chosen profession I still, however, assert that this personal disclosure holds true. Fact: ‘I was not always this way.’ In my earlier years I often procrastinated when making a decision, either personally or professionally. At times this was born of irrational fear but, more often than not, it reflected a need for greater control over my life.