In 2017, ICSA: The Governance Institute initiated a thought-leadership series to explore key governance issues and consider how to address them.As part of that project, this research sought to understand how different age demographics within our community view the future of governance.

Sport plays an important role in society and in the economy. Clubs, organisations and the staff and volunteers who run them make the benefits of sport available to millions. However, a series of high-profile failures, often attributed to shortcomings in governance, have been experienced by international sports federations, domestic national governing bodies (NGBs) and individual clubs in recent years. These have had a negative impact not only on the organisations themselves, but on their disciplines more widely and on sport in general.

Earlier in 2017, ICSA: The Governance Institute and Board Intelligence surveyed 80 governance professionals representing organisations of all sizes and sectors on how board reporting (i.e. the preparation of reports and other papers that are discussed at board meetings) operated in their organisations. The aim was to understand the main challenges to effective board reporting, in order to identify actions that could be taken to assist organisations to address these challenges.

The UK has an internationally respected corporate governance framework that delivers high standards in a transparent and proportionate way. The Government and my Department are determined to build on these strengths, working in partnership with the business community and other stakeholders. As the response to the Government’s green paper of last November showed, there is strong support across business, investor groups and civil society for strengthening stakeholder voice at board level. As well as acknowledging a responsibility towards the society and environment in which they operate, most companies and their boards also recognise that effective engagement with key stakeholders – which may include employees, suppliers, customers, third sector organisations and regulators – is a key component of long-term sustainability and success.

Taking minutes of meetings is administrative good practice. It creates a record of what has been agreed, why and by whom; and of what is to be done, by when and by whom. But it is more than that. As the definitive record of its highest decision-making body, minutes are a key part of the collective history of an organisation. For all these reasons, it is crucial that the quality of those minutes is of the highest standard. However, there is no one-size fits all solution.