As a member of a board or committee of management how do you know you are compliant with your board policies?

Often from the reports provided at board meetings it may seem that you are compliant as everything appears to be going smoothly and there have been no exceptions or surprises.  You can’t afford to judge from the report alone.

The way the report has been written will influence your opinion.  For example, if the report focuses on only certain positive issues and makes no mention of any negative issues, how would you know that there may be issues that need to be addressed?

Remember that as member of a board or committee of management you have a number of responsibilities and duties that you are required to undertake, discharge and comply with.  These can include a range of legal issues, fundraising requirements, financial accountabilities, managing strategic objectives and risk management to name just a few.  The governance framework made up of your board policies is a critical component to helping you meet these requirements.

If the report to the board is incomplete, how will you know that you are discharging your obligations according to board policies?

How will you know that you are not setting yourself up to be liable for something that is about to go wrong?

We know that Robin Hood had policies in place which he expected his Merry Men to follow.   For example, he put in place “policies” that included no violation of women and no killing of women or children. He needed to know that his men were adhering to policy because, although he was already a declared outlaw, he was controlling the limits of his liability.  That is what all board members must do.

You need to control the limits of your liability.

As a member of a board or committee of management you must be able to satisfy yourself and establish that the organisation is compliant with the policies and that involves more than just reading a report presented to you at the board meeting.

In tomorrow’s post we will show you one way to protect yourself and the organisation by properly monitoring your compliance with board policies.