Suraj Srinivasan’s Post

Quiz answer: how many directors must a public company have? Many thanks to everyone who voted. I am happy to see that the majority got it right, yet it looks like there were considerable doubts 🤔 ANSWER At least 2 The maximum number is not limited. You may have as many directors as you wish, yet obviously, a big number would make the board meetings much harder to arrange and conduct. At least one director is required for a private company. #accastudents #accalw #lwquizanswer

Looking forward to presenting on this important topic with Sue Ann Van Dermyden!

I totally agree with @ChristopherWrights comments below. I would add, having just retired of the board of a Financial Institution after 9 1/4 years (the 1/4 was as I was the Chair of the Audit Committee the Chair asked that I stay until we to got through the annual accounts process). Directors have a responsibility to demand of management when board papers are loaded up and available to the Directors and the style and nature of the board-papers. For example, on organisation where I was on their Audit and Risk Committee as an independent, I was asked by the board Chair to work with management to develop board finance reports that were more understandable by the Directors. For the accountants, yes the traditional rows and columns of lots of numbers were still there (as an appendix). Over time we focused on the key issues, grants, fundraising and other revenue, with green, amber, red arrows. The same with expenditure and the profitability of the sub units of the organisation. What also helped was percentage tolerances to help directors appreciate that what looks like a significant variance, may in the scheme of things be quite immaterial. In my time on the Financial Institution, the board would ask for changes in the board papers, based on the current circumstances and learning to regularly review the structure of the board papers to encompass better practices. More concerning about this article is that APRA requires financial institutions to have seperate board audit and risk committees. Did the BoQ Board Risk Committee have a schedule of items it needed to consider through the year (and potentially at every meeting). AUSTRAC has been focused on AML/CTF in financial institutions for quite a long time and there have been numerous enforcements over the years. One thing a boards should have on its agenda are failures/learnings of another financial institution as well has management providing a report on their own risk analysis of the organisation being exposed to simular events. Our financial institution was able to rely on intermediatary banks in Australia for AML/CTF, but that didn’t stop us adding that module to our banking platform because there are also obligations about certain classes of people and their transactions. Also we felt we had an obligation to be good citizens around AML/CFT and review transactions against certain parameters before the transactions were transferred to our intermediatory financial institution. As Chair of the Audit Committee, we had an internal audit of this area around every 18 months. As an organisation with significant funds under management and a banking like platform with a relatively small staff, our Risk Committee saw this could be a significant risk to the organisation, and the Audit Committee responded to that risk through internal audit.

Late and confusing board papers! It's 2023 and this is a large bank! What was the board doing about this? Board papers are the most fundamental communication on which directors rely and it's up to the board to ensure that they are appropriate. Sometimes boards behave as if they are an add-on to management's role and an inconvenience, instead of the driver of the entire business. All boards should take time to review their own performance and seek support to clarify their priorities. #directors #boardreporting #directorduties

The mid-year mark is the perfect time to get your ducks in a row for your annual meeting. Is your organization prepared? Don’t put your organization’s transparency and compliance at risk! Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/e5tYVjT7

The mid-year mark is the perfect time to get your ducks in a row for your annual meeting. Is your organization prepared? Don’t put your organization’s transparency and compliance at risk! Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejWUkPGw

The mid-year mark is the perfect time to get your ducks in a row for your annual meeting. Is your organization prepared? Don’t put your organization’s transparency and compliance at risk! Read more: https://lnkd.in/e6XbJg4D

As the great-grandson of Robert Fleming, the man who built the Fleming family business some 150 years ago, Matthew Fleming believe it is a challenge that cannot be met without two things: putting the right governance in place and engaging advisors who are able to provide guidance that goes beyond the technical. Read more in this STEP Journal article from Matthew Fleming from STEP Employer Partner Stonehage Fleming: https://lnkd.in/eXa3QGDW #STEPCPD #FamilyBusiness