Governance Custom Services

Board Briefings and Services in Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility

Full- or half-day facilitated workshop sessions are ideal lengths of time to share best governance practices in areas of critical interest to boards of directors, chairs, CEOs and other senior executives. Experienced Conference Board staff can prepare custom briefings for your organization based on pre-meeting discussions, interviews and/or questionnaires. They then prepare presentations of appropriate length and relevance for delivery to your staff at an informal and interactive facilitated session.

Below is a list of some of the briefings The Conference Board of Canada can deliver to decision-makers in your organization. The topics can also be combined to create a customized offering.

Financial Literacy Primer for Directors—Now more than ever, members of boards of directors must have a keen ability to read and understand financial statements and the associated notes, and also ask intelligent questions that will probe management’s decisions and estimates. This one-day program provides a foundation of literacy for directors who wish to improve their financial interpretation skills.

Board and Director Performance Assessments—This custom service assists a board and its directors in developing and executing board-level performance assessments. We help you develop appropriate evaluation tools and procedures for your circumstances, and then administer the questionnaires and report the findings. This usually involves assessments for the board as a whole, the board chair, committee chairs and individual directors. We can also facilitate a discussion on the assessment results and help you develop a plan of action for improvement.

Corporate Governance Reviews and Workshops—Increasing governance demands on boards often prompts directors to obtain a third-party review of the company’s situation to identify areas for improvement and develop plans of action. Our service entails completing a comprehensive assessment of the governance framework and practices of the organization, as well as the interpersonal dynamics at play. We then provide feedback on our findings and lead the board and senior management in a workshop to discuss, define and implement improvements.

Audit Committee Workshops—With so much focus on financial controls, disclosure and transparency, the demands placed on today’s audit committees are greater than ever before. In these sessions, we help committees to better appreciate the revised rules and regulations they must comply with, and present practical techniques for going beyond compliance to add true value to the organization.

New Director Orientations— Most boards want their new directors up to speed and performing effectively as soon as possible. We can help you develop a customized one-day orientation program to achieve this goal. We can also assist you in delivering the inaugural session to ease the burden on the organization.

Facilitated Board Strategy Sessions—Board involvement in strategic development and review is a cornerstone of effective stewardship. Our experience demonstrates that outside planning and facilitation of strategy development sessions increases the value to both directors and management. Please contact us to learn more about this service and how we can make your strategy sessions more effective.

Rebuilding Trust in Canadian Organizations—Increased public skepticism towards corporations and public sector organizations has potentially troubling implications. How should your organization respond? This workshop examines the extent and implications of the decline in public trust, describes how stakeholder trust works, and presents a practical framework for strengthening public trust in your organization.

Creating a Culture of Integrity—It is increasingly acknowledged that effective reputational risk management involves more than check-the-box compliance. Organizations must take steps to create and maintain a culture of integrity. This session will present directors, senior executives, and ethics and compliance managers with a holistic overview of what a culture of integrity looks like and how your organization can get there.

Your Code of Conduct Is a Snowflake: How to Create Codes of Conduct That Get Results—Merely having a code of conduct does little to prevent or detect unethical or illegal behaviour within your organization; in fact, in certain circumstances, it can actually be counterproductive. At the leading edge of practice, many organizations are seeing codes as part of broader, organization-wide integrity management frameworks. During this workshop, you’ll learn how your organization can revitalize its code and use the process as a catalyst for building a culture of integrity.

Whistleblowing That Works: Creating Effective Internal Disclosure Mechanisms—New regulatory requirements make mechanisms for the internal disclosure of wrongdoing (“whistleblowing”) a necessity for most large organizations. But do internal disclosure mechanisms (IDMs) provide real value by uncovering and addressing significant legal, reputational, ethical, business and financial risks? This session will provide you with the skills you need to determine the effectiveness of your organization’s IDM.

Measuring the Performance of Ethics and Compliance Programs—In the wake of recent scandals, many organizations are investing significant resources in ethics and compliance programs. However, not all organizations measure the impact of their investment on reducing illegal or unethical behaviour within the organization. This session will walk ethics and compliance managers through a three-step process for measuring the effectiveness of this essential corporate function.

Corporate Social Responsibility Explained—This briefing provides a comprehensive introduction to the subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR), outlining what it is and what it means for your organization and your industry. It also explores the links between CSR and governance, and the associated disclosure and compliance trends.

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting—With companies under pressure both from regulators and from the public, CSR disclosure has become an essential part of overall governance and risk management systems. In this session, you will be exposed to the latest practice in CSR reporting in Canada and abroad.

Carbon Finance and Disclosure—As carbon disclosure regulations and carbon trading initiatives grow more common, it is becoming increasingly important for organizations to understand how these new challenges will affect them. This session provides an overview of the business impacts and opportunities presented by a carbon-constrained world.

To inquire about arranging a Board Briefing for your organization, contact: GCSR_briefings@conferenceboard.ca