The primary role of Boards is to provide direction and support to Executive Teams, balancing the interests of the organisations’ many stakeholders: senior management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community at large. In most cases, the focus tends to be on compliance, for example, provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (USA), King IV, the Zimbabwe National Code of Corporate Governance and the recently promulgated Public Entities Corporate Governance Act (PECGA).

Is such a focus adequate in this ruthlessly competitive global village?

Compliance Requirements in the PECGA

The PECGA provides that public entities in Zimbabwe comply with the following provisions:

• Board members appointment process;
• Board composition;
• Committees of the Board;
• Meetings of Boards;
• Board performance monitoring;
• Board members and senior management remuneration and allowances;
• Board members training and development;
• Board governance documents;
• Conflict of interests;
• Risk Management;
• Financial reporting;
• Annual General Meetings; and
• Annual reports.

An impressive list indeed!

Areas Beyond Compliance

The world is changing fast, whether it is in terms of meeting shareholders’ financial expectations or the provision of services to the public. Below are some key areas of focus for Boards, beyond compliance:

Change Management

‘When the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is in sight” – Jack Welch.

Many entities have gone into extinction globally but also in Zimbabwe because they have failed to introduce needed change fast enough and, where they have done so, failed to manage the change well. It is one of the key responsibilities for Boards to provide transformational leadership to their organisations.

Organisational Culture Transformation

Embedding the organisation’s core values into the fabric of it’s culture is imperative for success. Sustained high performance, service excellence, employee engagement, do make a huge difference in achieving organisational success.

Enterprise Shaping

Enterprise shaping is another key responsibility for Boards. This encompasses the following:

• Market and competitive landscape review and repositioning: Organisations do not operate in a vacuum. Market and competitor landscape review helps an organisation discover its market strengths and weaknesses as well as identify its opportunities and threats. This in turn, feeds into the process of shaping the organisation’s strategy.
• Talent quality review and repositioning: Strategic talent management is yet another key responsibility for forward looking Boards. Such Boards should ensure that their organisations attract, retain and develop motivated cadres who deliver high performance on a sustainable basis and are quality succession for the future at both Board and at senior management levels.
• Sustainable development review and repositioning: Take note of the devastating effects of cyclone Idai. Organisations have, or should have, a purpose beyond simply making profits. The growing trend is that Boards run their organisations in a manner that balances three pillars, namely: Profits (e. the economic pillar), People (i.e. the social pillar in terms of benefits to staff in the business and benefits to communities) and Planet (i.e. the environmental pillar). This is embracing Sustainable Development, “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

“Beyond Compliance”, for some, a paradigm shift coming too late!