Governance

PFS can help boards to measure and enhance their performance to deliver better outcomes for customers and other stakeholders. We undertook a Board Performance Review for a super fund trustee board . This was a repeat customer who returned to us because we provide deep analysis, practical recommendations and effective ways to compare performance over time. Our report included an objective assessment of the performance of boards and an evaluation of the engagement of each Director. We highlighted the changes in competence, culture, performance, and management of risks.

Every organisation needs a board skills matrix to ensure they have a board with the necessary capabilities collectively to effectively oversee the management of the organisation. At the request of a Board Chair we developed a skills matrix designed for their particular requirements. We then assessed the capability of each of the Directors against the matrix which enabled the Chair of the Board to identify skills gaps and plan for individual skills development. Our report also provided the Chair with inputs for the board renewal process to ensure the identification of the necessary skills for future Board appointments.

Risk culture survey

PFS has designed and run risk culture surveys of all staff of an organisation. Questions were asked of all levels of the organisation from Board to frontline staff and from the analysis of the responses an assessment was made of the risk culture of the organisation. We repeated this over a number of years and provided detailed recommendations for improvement each year. By repeating the survey regularly, we were able to provide increasingly targeted recommendations and the organisation saw improvements in its risk culture over time.

We recently developed a range of governance policies for a new market entrant to meet APRA requirements. This included a Board Charter, Board Committee terms of reference, Governance Policy, Fit and Proper Policy and a Remuneration (including FAR) Policy. Our familiarity with the APRA requirements as they have changed over time, and the development of policy frameworks for a range of entities, ensured that the business would commence with a solid policy base.