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Boardroom Partners Level 7, 234 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 Phone: (02) 9241 6311 |
Government Boards in Australia - What Works Best and Why?
- A Two Day Course
Jane ran a 2 day course that compared and contrasted public and private sector boards and examined how to select, support and evaluate public sector board practices for best practice governance on 18-19 June in Canberra.
Also directing the course was professional board member, governance consultant and author of All Above Board: Great Governance for the Government Sector, Julie Garland McLellan.
The course was designed for public servants who are involved in governance or work closely with boards, recently appointed and aspiring government board directors as well as interested parties outside of the public sector who would like to learn about the workings of government boards.
For more information about the course, including the full program, please visit www.iired.com.au.
New Service to AIM
Boardroom Partners has agreed to provide a book review service to the Australian Institute of Management (AIM). A great selection of books on corporate governance is available from their comprehensive book store and we will highlight any interesting new publications. For ideas about new books have a look at the AIM bookshop website and access their online service. (www.aimbooks.com.au).
Round Table Seminars
Boardroom Partners launched its series of round table seminars as a means of facilitating regular monthly discussions on all aspects of applied corporate governance. These seminars provide a unique opportunity for directors and chairmen from diverse companies to participate in intimate discussions with keynote presenters and share their views around a boardroom table, over a light lunch.
Recent Seminars
On 16 October 2008 Michael Lambert, Non Executive Director on Energy Australia, NSW State Superannuation Board, Queensland Racing Ltd, Racing Services Australia, the Asylum Seekers Centre and the Sax Institute presented an informed view about the challenges and opportunities of sitting on a commercialised government owned board.
Michael talked about the great changes over the past 20 years in government ownership and the move to bring commercial skills onto boards, particularly those operating under Corporations Law and with e requirement to pay a dividend to the state Treasury. As an ex-Head of NSW Treasury, Michael was well placed to give his own insights into the requirements of board membership and offered his own reflections on the main differences from the private sector. These differences were notably the single shareholder; the complexity of reporting; the restricted mandate and defined charter; the capital structure and lack of access to the debt and equity markets as well as other dimensions relating to the appointment, remuneration and performance of board members.
Guests included those with government board experience and those aspiring to it, and there was much lively discussion within the group before we closed the event after coffee and all headed back to work.
Look out for details of our next event, and thanks to all those who came for making this so interesting and apologies to those who missed out.
Previous Seminars
A brief summary of seminar topics we have covered to date are highlighted below. Please click the links for a full overview.
The Highs and Lows of Board Membership in the Not-For-Profit Sector
Our seminar on 5 May 2008 provided an understanding of the highs and lows of board membership in the not-for-profit sector. If you would like information about this event, please contact us by email on mail@boardroompartners.com.au.
How to Specify What You Need in a New Director
Boardroom Partners held another successful seminar in March 2008 which focused on how boards could be more effective in their search for a new director. Keynote speakers were our Managing Partner, Jane Bridge and Barbara Ward, Chairman of Country Energy, who shared their best and worst experiences with non-executive director selection with our guests. To read more about the majority points of view which were discussed around the table, please click here.Boards and Independent Performance Evaluations – How and Why ?
With the growing demands on companies to achieve higher levels of performance, two keynote speakers, our Managing Partner, Jane Bridge and Bonnie Boezeman AO, Chairman of PayPal Australia, discussed the benefits of conducting independent board reviews at our first seminar in February for 2008. For a more detailed overview, please click here.
A Changing Profile of Directors on ASX200 Boards
Dr Susan Tiffin, an experienced academic on policy development, capacity building and ethical standards, was the guest speaker at our end of year December 2007 seminar which highlighted the results of recent research Boardroom Partners had conducted with directors of ASX 200 boards, who were fifty years of age and younger. To read more about the key themes covered around this topic, please click here.
Changes to the ASX Corporate Governance Council Guidelines
Boardroom Partners launched its inaugural Round Table Seminar series in November 2007 with Speaker Iain Thompson, a key expert in applied corporate governance. Directors and chairs from high profile companies attended the event and discussed the implications of the recent changes to the ASX Corporate Governance Council Guidelines and their impact on business. To read more about the different views shared on this topic, please click here.