A concerted effort to follow good corporate governance practices is key in supporting the integrity and efficiency of any company.
Unfortunately, corporate governance often usually only becomes a point of discussion after the exposure of a negative media story.
What does good corporate governance actually involve?
In 1991 the Cadbury Report outlined that “Corporate Governance is the system by which businesses are directed and controlled”.
When most people think of a large corporate company, they will usually think of a company with hundreds or thousands of employees. To function with a company of that magnitude there has to be a clear structure. This method of structuring a business is what is known as corporate governance.
When a company follows good corporate governance practices, it allows it to work more efficiently due to the greater levels of accountability and communication it brings to the organisation. It also helps the employees in the business understand what their roles and responsibilities are.
Today many large corporations already follow a high level of corporate governance because they know they have a public image to maintain and can’t afford to allow an image problem to damage their reputation. [See previous blog entry on recent corporate attitudes towards scandals to read more]
What can a company achieve with good corporate governance?
When everybody in the company knows their roles and responsibilities, employees can clearly understand what they are being held accountable for. For example, a supervisory board has the responsibility for ensuring the company follows proper ethical emission practises. If the company then has an emissions scandal, then it is the fault of that supervisory board for not properly monitoring the departments responsible for emissions. In this regard, the blame cannot be placed on the team of engineers in that emissions department, the board of the company is at fault. This good governance practice prevents situations in which there is no way to know who is accountable for what action, or scandal.
Having that accountability with good corporate governance will help people throughout the company make better decisions, whether it is knowing that someone should be acknowledged for good work or someone that must be terminated from their position due to their own blunders.
Through corporate governance, issues like scandal and fraud can be limited or avoided altogether. As the people in the business will know what they are accountable for and will be monitored for it, the actions of one person shouldn’t mean the downfall of the entire organisation as they are more likely to take care of their responsibilities.
Communication is also made easier due to their being an established hierarchy and clear role guidelines through the organisation. This communication not only encourages harmony within the organisation, but can also be used to improve public relations and image by showing an improved level of transparency.
How can board portal software help improve corporate governance?
Governance software provides a single platform for managing board and committee meetings, risk, decision making and other governance related activities. It provides an overview of governance throughout the organisation, helping identify issues and drive improvement.
BoardPacks is one of many boardf portal software tools designed to help with corporate governance, but as the leading provider, it has a number of unique features that means it has been chosen globally as the chosen solution for a better governance
Managing meetings and information online with a good board portal can help organisations share improve their efficiency by reducing the time and effort usually involved with those tasks.
Access to documentation around previous decisions contributes to more informed decision-making. BoardPacks includes voting tools with documentation, research and reports related to that decision which means the decision makers can review and discuss all influencing factors in their own time.
Promoting risk awareness and management is vital to ensuring healthy governance. Using BoardPacks risk management software integrated into the meeting space means that risks are easy to review, monitor and measure from within the committee meeting. A graphical presentation of all risks, organised by priority, on one screen, provides risk managers with a live view of the risks facing their organisation.
Many organisations are trying to improve governance. This may be due to regulation in their sector or required improvements in their growth and productivity. Software has a role to play in supporting the information sharing, decision making and risk management that comes with good governance.
For more information on BoardPack, visit our website or speak to us to arrange a demo.
