Articles

Climate Risk Governance – The Role of the Board

Organisations can no longer ignore the pressing need for a proper climate risk governance strategy. Corporate liability due to failure to discharge duty in direct relation to climate risk is now a reality. Boards and directors can — and should — systematically apply a climate risk governance strategy to ensure they have discharged due care and diligence to mitigate this risk. At one of our recent webinars on Climate Risk Governance, Charlotte Turner, Senior Associate at MinterEllison, presented the key ways in which not-for-profit (NFP) boards and directors should effectively govern climate risk.

The Rise of Technology During the Pandemic – A Double Edged Sword

The impacts of COVID-19 are continuing to be felt across all industries and the charity and not-for-profit (NFP) sector is no exception. Sudden lockdowns and disruptions to service delivery forced charities and NFPs to embrace technology as one of the only ways forward. Whilst technology can improve efficiency, foster collaboration, expand opportunities for growth and help organisations better deliver services, it is a double-edged sword. Cybersecurity incidents have soared during the pandemic with charities and NFPs being a prime target.

Clear and Effective Board Papers in Six Steps

In a recent webinar on writing effective board papers, Josh Dowse from Clarity Thought Partners and Head of ESG and Sustainability at SenateSHJ, outlined the six fundamental stages of creating and delivering effective board papers. Here are some key discussions from this webinar to assist you with the preparation of your board papers. Writing effective (and welcome) board papers is a challenge. Breaking it down into these six steps is the key to clarity and getting the result you want.

Improving Governance and Transparency

Good governance is vital for transparency and ongoing public support for the charity and Not-for-profit sector. It is important that boards are aware of recent regulatory changes and ACNC innovations that will bolster governance and transparency. Our latest official data shows Australians donated $12.7 billion to charities in the 2020 reporting period, up from $11.8 billion in the previous period. Transparency and accountability underpin that strong level of trust and confidence.

The Challenge of being the Treasurer

Glenn Poole: Well, good afternoon. Thank you for coming back so promptly for this final session this afternoon. My name’s Glenn Poole and I’m an Executive in Residence at the Australian Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies at QUT’s Business School. With a long career in the state treasury and seven years as a state auditor general, I’ve little difficulty in acknowledging the power and influence of money within society.

Legal Obligations of NFP Directors

In this highly engaging presentation Sophie McNamara gives an overview of the various legal obligations NFP Directors have. Transcript of Legal Obligations of NFP Directors Sophie: I just want to say what a great event this has been. I’ve only been here for the afternoon, but I just want to congratulate Better Boards and Raf. It’s such a great idea. I gave a talk last year about managing difficult directors, and in my research for that found out that the average age of a director in Australia is 68 years old, and they are definitely a white man.

[Video] It’s not in the Tea Leaves, It’s in the Minutes

The humble Board Agenda and its progeny, the Minutes are often assigned to a spring back folder and buried on a shelf somewhere. There is little appreciation at board level of the marketing power of these documents. Brian examines the principles of a good agenda and minutes leaving attendees with new respect for the importance of these documents in painting an organisation, not just in retrospect, but in prospect.

The Journey To A Customer Driven Marketplace

Do you have a strong understanding of the fundamentals of Good Governance? Does your board and executive understand what it needs to do to win in the new customer driven marketplace? The strategic and organisational impacts and implications of the new customer-driven, competitive marketplace are profound. Never before and probably never again will the boards, chief executive officers and senior managers of Australian community businesses (NFPs) face such a cataclysmic shift in the way they need to think, behave and operate.

Welcoming and Initiating New Board Members

Board transitions are a great opportunity to renew and invigorate a board. New board members can bring enthusiasm, a fresh perspective and new ideas to the table. Yet joining a board can be a daunting experience and transitions are most successful when boards properly orientate their new directors to the cultures and practices of their organisation. The difficulties of attracting new board members has been widely written and spoken about in non-profit governance discourse but securing a desirable candidate is only the first step in the process of renewing a board’s membership.

What Are Your Leadership Anchors?

Many people are talking about the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world we are living in right now. The pandemic, natural disasters, financial and funding insecurities over the past few years are just a few factors destabilising many people and organisations. The consequences include significant levels of poor mental health, constant change and overwhelm. Unfortunately stress and overwhelm kills creativity and innovation, which is exactly what we need to counter the effects of a VUCA environment.