The board of directors is ultimately responsible for the performance of the organisation. Performance in this context is a broad term including statutory performance, operational performance, ethical performance, SHE performance, financial performance, and various other performance areas. The board emphasis on future performance means it is essential for directors to DEFINE 'Reposition Oportunities' and to DRIVE 'Reposition Initiatives'.
Speaker Topics Presenter - John Reed of Reposition Pty Ltd
E: john@reposition.net.au
M: +61 438 648 678
‘Reposition the Boardroom Focus on ASX Corporate Governance Principle 3 for Enhanced Performance’
Consistent with other fraud surveys, the findings of the KPMG Fraud Survey 2008 evidences that the ethical tone of an organisation directly impacts the incidence of fraud and indirectly impacts productivity and performance. Furthermore, the findings suggest that fraud is on the increase in Australia and New Zealand. Directors and executive teams and management need to give a far greater focus on ethics and on improving corporate performance through reinforcing an ethical culture.
What is the ethical tone of your organisation? Is there a culture of compliance or a culture of ‘doing the right thing’? What is the fraud trend in your organisation? Is there more attention on fraud detection or on productivity promotion? Is there a code of ethics? Does the code of ethics impact the daily work of the people in the organisation? Do employees regard the directors and the executive team as examples of ethical behaviour? Do outsiders regard the directors and the executive team as examples of ethical behaviour? Is the ethical tone promoting productivity? Does the organisational ethics performance get reported on at board meetings and at executive meetings?
Principle 3 of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations requires directors and boards to ‘actively promote ethical and responsible decision-making’. The principle is broad reaching in its reference to ‘ethical and responsible decision-making’, while the requirement for boards to ‘actively promote’ goes far beyond compliance. The recommendations are far narrower, focusing on the establishment of a code of conduct and also on a policy concerning trading in company securities. Many boards give primary attention to compliance with the recommendations, with less attention given to integrating the essence of principle 3 into the culture and into the people systems of the organisation.
John presents a compelling case for greater boardroom and executive management focus on the essence of principle 3, demonstrating the direct impact of a greater focus on productivity, fraud prevention, and performance.
The speaker topic enables the audience to assess the ‘reposition opportunity’ for their business or for the component of a business for which they are responsible. Realising the ‘reposition opportunity’ requires management commitment together with a well defined initiative that is implemented well.
