Articles

What is a board?

“Board” is one of several names used to signify the group of people assigned the responsibility to govern an organisation, company or other similar entity. A board is a legal requirement of a number of different forms of for-profit and non-profit organisations. Your organisation’s board might be called the board of directors, board of trustees, committee, management committee, council, governing body, responsible entity, or one of a variety of other names, depending on your organisation’s legal form or constitutions.

The Uncomplicated Guide to Getting Board Reporting Right

Many non-profit executives and directors may dread writing board reports, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Arnold Wong, a Fellow and National Treasurer of the Australian Computer Society understands the foundations behind effective board reporting. He discussed the basic skills required through a helpful lens in a recent webinar with Better Boards. We’ve compiled some key points here in this brief article to help you approach your board reporting with confidence.

What Makes a Great Company Secretary?

What Makes a Great Company Secretary? At one of our recent webinars on the Role of the Company Secretary, Kristy Huxtable, Head of Company Secretariat at Australian Retirement Trust, shared insights from her experiences in the role. We’ve gathered together some key points from the webinar into a brief article to assist those donning the Company Secretary hat. A boardroom can be an intimidating setting. For it to be less so, each person involved in an NFP’s management and its board should understand the intricacies of their given role.

Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Next Board Review

Five fatal flaws to avoid in your next board review: 1. A lack of purpose, rather than a lack of talent 1 Ask yourself, why are we doing a board review? If the answer is, we are required to do so under our board charter, then beware, you are missing a great opportunity. Boards are encouraged to stand back and reflect on where their organisation is on its journey of development and how the board is operating in this context.

Key Stages of Building a Financial Model for NFP Organisations

Financial modelling is one of the most important tools a non-profit organisation can have under its belt to improve its Financial Management. It can help in the planning of short and long-term strategies, to identify areas for improvement, and even to adjust the entire business model. The board should be part of building a financial model, but it must cooperate with other key decision-makers in the organisation to ensure everyone’s needs are being met.

The Board and Risk Management

We remain in the midst of a global pandemic. We have all had to think, respond and behave differently as a result. Things that we took for granted before 2020 are no longer possible or require a different approach. Our expectations have changed. Our priorities have changed. The pandemic has created uncertainty for us all. This is in addition to other factors that create uncertainty in our environment, business and personal worlds.

What is a Director Identification Number?

The Australian Government is working to modernise the Australian Business Register. As part of this project, as of November 1st 2021, The Australian Government has introduced the Director Identification Number (DIN) system. Table of Contents What is a Director ID? What are Director IDs For? Why have Director IDs been introduced? Why do I need a Director ID? What is the format of a Director ID? Who needs a Director ID?

Board Culture CPR

Long ago, in a land far away, there was a corporate board with members alive with passion, respected by their peers, easily engaging with senior management, and receiving accolades from general staff. Meetings started and ended on time, agendas were adhered to, and meeting minutes were accurate. The ambiance from the top down was warm and collegial, and whistleblowers were praised and rewarded for their candor. Does this sound like fantasy land?

Directors Duties – Understanding Core Business

Directors’ duties, as prescribed by law, set the scene for how a board constructs and operationalises its governance model and structure, roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures and undertakes its work and activities. Beyond directors’ duties, a shared understanding between directors of the key concepts underlying their organisations (and their practical application) provides for more effective agreement on how their board and organisation will be configured, thereby enabling fundamental governance principles and practices to be enacted.

How to Handle Conflicts of Interest On Your Not-for-profit Board

Conflicts of interest are likely to arise in any not-for-profit organisation. How you manage them can improve or damage your organisation’s reputation. A conflict of interest arises when the interests of a not-for-profit organisation’s leadership, or their friends or family, conflicts with the best interests of the organisation. The three prongs to handling conflicts of interest are: identifying them, putting steps in place to prevent them, and managing them well when they arise.