As a director, you are responsible for the actions and inactions of your company, its successes and its failures, its culture and its decisions. To lead the company well, you need to know what is happening in the company and in its environment. Here are 5 essential agenda items for good governance in any organisation.
- Minutes and matters arising
This is a standard item on the agenda. So, like always, you have read the minutes of the previous meeting before this meeting. You are ready to report on your actions. You are ready to approve a future date for actions that were not completed. Pause there.
Why wasn’t the action completed? Was the timescale unreasonable? Did an emergency move the action lower in a list of priorities? Is the department short-staffed? Has information come to light which makes the original decision a poor one? Did the designated actor agree with the decision in the first place? If you pause to find out the reason for inaction, you just might learn something that you need to know.
If actions are repeatedly missed, you can ask the company secretary to keep the original date of the action in the minutes. That way, as a board, you can look into why an action repeatedly remains incomplete, and you can address it.
2. Accounts
Every year, you approve the statutory accounts before they are filed. You know whether the company is making profits or losses, and the balance sheet does not ring any alarm bells. Great!
But can the company meet its payment obligations on time? If not, it is technically insolvent and you might just find yourself footing the bill for your decisions. Make sure you understand the company’s cash flow before making financial decisions.
3. Operations
You will, of course, want to know how the company is doing in its general activities. There is some overlap between financial and operational reporting, but these don’t need to be repeated. What you do need is anything else. How is performance against KPIs? Does the company have the employees it needs to carry out its operations? Can the operations be made more efficient? Is there anything on the horizon that might affect the company’s operations?
4. Compliance
Compliance is not terribly exciting. But it is necessary for you and for the company. As a director, you are personally responsible for making sure the organisation takes steps to prevent it from being used to defraud, launder money, finance terrorism, benefit slavers, create an excessive risk to health and safety, and generally create a nuisance to society. Exactly what (and how) you need to monitor, depends on the company’s operations. Either a compliance professional or the company secretary can advise you on what your obligations are in your industry and what reporting, policies and procedures you need (and want) to have in place.
5. What do you think should be added to this list?
This is the single most important item on this list. As a director, you are responsible for leading the company, so what do you think the board should be talking about?
What would you add? Artificial intelligence? Climate change? Nvidia share price? Company culture? Employee retention? Namibia elections? Space exploration? The corporate culture? Diversity? Homeworking?
What topic might it be useful for you and the other board members to explore to better support your company’s future successes?