Book Review

The Fish Rots from the Head — Book Review

Bob Garratt’s The Fish Rots from the Head: Developing Effective Board Directors is an impassioned treatise on achieving effective corporate governance. Garratt offers an enthusiastic discussion of how boards can develop the requisite skills and approach and defy the potential problems and failings of corporate governance. Garratt particularly focuses on how the serious insufficiencies of some boards have negatively affected or caused the failure of organisations they govern. Garratt asks readers to appreciate the board’s determinative role in the success and effectiveness of an organisation.

The Australian Guide to Chairing Meetings — Book Review

Years of experience have shown that the most efficient way to transact the business of a meeting is to have a clear set of rules that ensure that every decision is made in accordance with democratic principles, that minority opinion is respected, and that few dominating individuals cannot impose their will on the rest of the group.” Marjorie Puregger’s The Australian Guide to Chairing Meetings is a compact but comprehensive resource on the formal structures associated with holding a meeting.

Financial Statements Demystified — Book Review

David Hey-Cunningham’s Financial Statements Demystified was written for business and non-profit leaders who have a limited formal understanding of financial statements and accounting principles. With this book, Hey-Cunningham seeks to provide readers with a basic introduction to these matters in order to assist them to better understand their organisation or business and, in turn, for those enterprises to become more successful and sustainable. Although this text is not specifically aimed at non-profit organisations it is invaluable as an Australian resource on financial statements and financial management that is easily as relevant to the non-profit sector as to the business world.

Directors at Work: A Practical Guide for Boards

Directors at Work: A Practical Guide for Boards by Geoffrey Kiel, Gavin Nicholson, Jennifer Ann Tunny and James Beck is a substantive reference manual for all types of board directors. Directors at Work is a generous text, both in size and in breadth of content. The 818-page book addresses a huge range of issues applicable to directors and offers a practical approach to each. Directors at Work is not the type of book you should attempt to read over a weekend (as I did), nor is it something you should scramble to speed read before your first board meeting.

The Handbook of Nonprofit Governance – Book Review

The Handbook of Nonprofit Governance, published by the American organisation Boardsource, is designed as a one-stop resource on governance for leaders and leadership teams of non-profit organisations. This book explores the value of governance in non-profit organisations and addresses the crucial roles, relationships, structures and practices involved in their leadership. The book is targeted chiefly at new or inexperienced board members and those with an academic interest in non-profit governance. As a comprehensive overview of a range of governance roles and issues more experienced directors might also find it a useful reference to keep on hand.

Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards – Book Review

Richard T. Ingram’s Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards, Second Edition (2008) is a handy manual on the basics of board governance. The text is the first publication in the popular Governance Series produced by Board Source. The series is authored by a range of writers with experience in the non-profit sphere and is designed as a point of entry to non-profit boards and a range of topics that surround effective governance.

Driven by Purpose

Driven by Purpose: Charities that make the difference (2012) is a new book from Stephen Judd, Anne Robinson and Felicity Errington that considers the history of non-profit organisations in Australia and advocates the value of ensuring organisations are purpose-driven. The book presents an excellent potted history of the charity sector in Australia and considers pertinent questions such as Why have charities? What’s the big issue about legal definitions? and Why does Australia have such a significant charity sector?

The Book of the Board

David Fishel’s The Book of the Board: Effective governance for non-profit organisations, Second Edition (2008) is a comprehensive manual on all things relating to non-profit boards. The Book of the Board is an ideal introduction to the intricacies of board membership for those who are new to the role but it will also be equally valuable to veteran board members looking to corroborate their ideas or consolidate their expertise. Fishel seeks to empower board members to contribute to their organisation and assist them in navigating some of the challenges they may face in a non-profit governance role.

So You Want To Be A Company Director – Book Review

Have you been asked to sit on a board or are you interested in becoming a board member or company director? Warren Tapp’s self published book So you want to be a Company Director is a new resource that can answer many of the questions first time and even experienced directors and board members have about sitting on a board and becoming a director. Warren Tapp has over 30 years of experience with boards in Australia and overseas as a consultant, director and non-executive chairman.