Welcome to the BoardTalk newsletter for February 2017. If you have any feedback on our publication, please email us.

GOVERNANCE MARK UPDATE

There are now fifteen organisations working towards the achievement of the Governance Mark and we expect to make the first award very shortly. Further information here and inquires to governance@sportnz.org.nz

BOARDPRO LAUNCHES

Board meeting software boardPro manages all your meeting logistics in one simple package.

We have worked with the developers and created a bespoke landing page for the sector which links to our good practice libraries. Very consistent with our frameworks and sharply priced. Save some trees, have a look here.

WOMEN IN GOVERNANCE 2017

Applications open 

Applications for the mentor and scholarship programmes are now open, closing Friday March 10. Forms and information here

Increase in gender balance on boards

2016 saw a small improvement in gender diversity on boards. Across the 72 boards we monitor women now comprise 35% of directors up from 34% in 2015. There are now 194 women across those boards. Heading in the right direction towards our 2020 target of 40% from a low of 27% three years ago.

DIRECTOR TENURE DISCUSSION

The first few Governance Mark assessments uncovered a number of boards without limits on director tenure. This is a Foundation (mandatory) element in the Framework. Considerable discussion on the merits or otherwise of this requirement have taken place. The Framework should be open to challenge and we have taken time to consult widely on the matter. A summary of international good practice, sector feedback and our updated view is here.

AN OUTSTANDING INVESTOR LETTER

BlackRock, at $5.1 trillion is the world’s biggest investor. Larry Fink, the CE sends an annual letter to the companies they work with. An outstanding example of fiduciary and governance principles. Read it here.

RESOURCES UPDATE

Some new, new-ish and imminent resources.

Board charter; updated last year, notably to include health and safety governance level policy
Whistle blowing policy; a catch all general policy for reporting concerns.

Risk management; updated, expanded with templates - in the next few weeks. It will be posted here.