President’s Report to Members - October 2022 International Council Meeting

Dear Members,

I would like to take this opportunity to let you know what was discussed, as well as some important decisions taken, at The Chartered Governance Institute’s most recent international Council meeting held as a hybrid meeting in Cape Town, South Africa on 3 and 4 October 2022. I will also cover the outcome of the Annual General Meeting held on 4 October 2022.

The Council was fortunate to be able to hold this meeting as a largely face-to-face meeting;  our second for 2022.  Council will also continue to hold meetings virtually as the need arises in-between the two regular face-to-face meetings.

COUNCIL MATTERS

(a) 2020 + Strategic plan

The 2020+ Strategic Plan put in place in 2020 is structured around 6 key elements:

• Financial stability and sustainability (including our Covid-19 response),
• Business growth in relation to students and members,
• Brand enhancement,
• Qualifications,
• Thought leadership, and
• Organisational governance

The Council reviewed the strategic progress being made against the Plan but also took the opportunity for a significant revision as the plan had been in place for two years.  Completed projects such as the appointment of a Policy Advisor, the review of eligibility requirements for membership and the broadening of the assessment framework in the International Qualifying Scheme, to name but a few, were removed. 

Council agreed that whilst the impact of Covid-19 was still evident, it was no longer necessary to maintain such a high focus on stability and sustainability in relation to the pandemic.  In addition, the focus on qualifications had largely been addressed.  The proposed new plan will have the following key elements:

• Collaboration
• Business growth in new markets
• Brand awareness and product clarity
• Designation clarity
• Thought leadership, and
• Internal governance

The Council agreed to evaluate establishing relationships with existing associations in Latin America and Africa, to commence a project to further clarify the breadth of roles governance professionals occupy (see below) as well as continuing to support expansion of the eCommunity. 

The draft new plan has been relabelled the 2022+ Strategic Plan and will be signed off by Council in the near future. 

(b) Strategic policy agenda

The Institute’s Policy Adviser provided the Council, as was undertaken in 2021, with an analysis of the broad policy areas that would underpin the Institute’s thought leadership agenda for the coming 12 months.  The Council was provided with a range of potential topics for consideration that stemmed from previous meetings with the Thought Leadership Committee. Topics around ESG and sustainability reporting, the Great-Resignation, the link between good governance and decision making as well as the impact of corruption were all considered.

(c) Global Institute promotion

A strategic decision was made some years ago that the global Institute would have a digital presence that would complement the work of the Divisions but not duplicate it.  The eCommunity continues to be valuable asset for the global Institute with over 4,900 registered users of the platform.

Council was brought up to date with the launch of a new graduate/new-member sub-community called The Governance Gateway that is on track to launch on 7 November 2022. All Divisions have been involved in identifying support staff in their offices and contributing to the features of the sub-community. 

Some new features (in addition to discussion threads, resource library and guest blogs) that will be included are:

Eye to eye: Virtual networking at its best. Our most experienced members are there to provide a short and sharp insight into a key topic thus providing international networking and professional development in an informal and relaxed setting.

99 seconds: The ‘right-now’ of governance where participants share topics with their peers that are important to them.  Who else knows best what a new professional is thinking about than another new professional?

State of the Division: Governance is local and global.  Relaxed discussions with the Chief Executives of the Institute’s Divisions.  Unscripted…to the point…and frank…these discussions will bring the best of our global network to the community.

You can access the <eCommunity here> and if you have not registered, I urge you to do so. 

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS COMMITTEE

Under the guidance of the Professional Standards Committee the Council has agreed to undertake a project to develop Competency Standards for Chartered Secretaries and Chartered Governance Professionals.

Over the last several years the Institute has moved to a quality assurance framework in accrediting a Division’s capacity to administer the IQS and has reviewed the assessment framework to include assessment tools that include traditional examinations but also a wider range of assessment tools that can better assess a person’s knowledge.

The Institute is now considering going a step further by providing Divisions with the flexibility they need to develop a qualifying programme structure in a way that meets the local needs of their jurisdiction whilst at the same time maintaining the standard that the community expects from a Chartered Secretary or Chartered Governance Professional.  The Institute now wants to put in place Competency Standards that could guide Divisions and, if appropriate, either augment or replace the prescriptive set of subject outlines and syllabus topics that make up the current practice of ensuring uniformity and maintenance of standards. 

The project is a major one and one that will involve consultation with all 9 Divisions.  The project is expected to be finished in late 2023 and will greatly enhance the Institute’s ability to meet the needs of a wide range of roles in the work-place.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE

The Council also received a report on the work of the Thought Leadership Committee, in particular, an update on the new members of the TLC and an introduction from the new Chair – John Heaton (CGIUKI).  The Council expressed its sincere gratitude to Peter Greenwood (Hong Kong/China) who stepped down as Chair in August, for steering the TLC through an important transition and bringing on board the new Policy Advisor.

There have been three papers released during 2022, The Ethical governance of AI; The values of Belonging, Dignity and Justice, and The impact of Covid-19. The work of the TLC has been greatly enhanced with the addition of Ms Takawira’s expertise.

2022 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The 4 October 2022 AGM was held in Cape Town as a hybrid meeting this year with virtual attendance from across the Institute’s 9 Divisions and face to face with a large number of members from Cape Town.  This year there were a substantial number of amendments to the byelaws that were put to members for approval as well as to receive the Institute’s Annual Report and Financial Statements.  All resolutions passed with a substantial ‘yes’ vote.  Full results can be seen on the global Institute’s website here.

CONCLUSION

I would like to thank all my colleagues on the international Council for their focus and engagement and all the time freely given for the benefit of our membership and to Immediate Past-President Peter Turnbull (Australia), Vice-Presidents John Heaton (CGIUKI) and Dr Syed Hamid Aljunid (Malaysia) as well as Alan Au (Chair of PSC) who serve on our Executive Committee.

As always, the work of members who serve on Divisional councils or sit on branch committees throughout the world is very greatly appreciated. In addition, the work of the Director General, Tim Sheehy, our Institute Secretary, Cynthia Mora-Spencer,  our Policy Advisor, Gertrude Takawira, as well as all the CEO’s and staff in our 9 divisions, is critical in generating support for these recent new international initiatives.

I look forward to keeping you informed of developments through future reports such as this.

Yours sincerely,

Jill Parratt FCG
International President
7 November 2022