22 February 2018
We had a maximum attendance for our first CPD event of the year in Deloitte on Tuesday 20th February.
Melissa Scully, Senior Manager, Centre for Corporate Governance Deloitte, described the qualities of highly effective boards and stated that the need for boards to demonstrate their effectiveness has never been higher than it is right now. Melissa gave insights into the current trends and common themes emerging from recent board effectiveness reviews which included such themes as a lack of understanding regarding board responsibilities and poor reporting with many boards being presented with information overload.
In conclusion, Melissa outlined the important considerations for the Company Secretary in managing a Board review and shared a framework for assessing Board effectiveness.
Ian Curtin, Senior Manager, Human Capital Deloitte, defined culture in organisations and stated that the current consensus was that responsibility and active oversight for organisational culture rested with the board. Ian described the factors and challenges associated with accelerating culture change and described what the board must do to start the conversation to bring culture into the discussions at board room level.
Finally, Ian summarised guidance for the company secretary in promoting culture within the boardroom.
Following these 2 practical presentations Ruairi Cosgrove, President ICSA Irish Region, led a discussion with the audience and facilitated a question and answer session with Melissa and Ian.
Many thanks to Deloitte for hosting this event.