Board Matters
Issue 6 - May 2007
From the Chairman
This update is part of a series of regular updates from the Board of B&E Ltd designed to provide you with information on the activities of the Board. I hope that you find this update interesting as well as informative. I welcome your feedback on this update particularly in regard to its information and relevance.
Nigel Harris
Chairman
New Director to join B&E Board
Respected chartered accountant and businessman Lyn Cox will be joining the B&E Board as a Director in June.
Mr Cox is currently a partner in the major accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in Hobart, and until last year was managing partner of the Tasmanian operations of the firm. He is also Vice President, State Council, Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Mr Cox will bring financial, risk management and accounting expertise to the Board.
Mr Cox will be one of two southern-based Directors on the seven-member Board. Other Directors are Nigel Harris, John Bonney, Tim Whyte, Keryn Nylander, Bruce Walker and Norman Holder.
Strategic Direction
B&E operates in a very dynamic and competitive environment. To ensure that B&E continues to remain relevant in today’s environment, Board and Management undertake regular reviews of our strategic direction.
A recent review of our strategic direction has been completed and a plan for implementation has now been approved by the Board.
The major emphasis of our strategic direction has not changed in that our focus will continue to be to achieve exceptional service in everything we do. We still have a way to go before we will be satisfied that we are achieving this and to help with this the Board has agreed to commit additional resources to speed up the improvement work we have started.
Fit and Proper Assessment
In the last update, we advised that the Board had completed all of the changes necessary to amend our constitution and policies to address the requirements of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) new regulatory requirements regarding the fitness and propriety of our Responsible Persons - Directors, Senior Management and the External Auditor.
The key requirement is that an annual assessment of Responsible Persons is undertaken against the fit and proper standards set by APRA. This is to ensure that the interests of members are managed and overseen competently by honest and trustworthy individuals.
The Board has now completed its first annual assessment of all Responsible Persons against the new fit and proper standards set by APRA and found that all B&E’s Responsible Persons are fit and proper.
Policy Development and Reviews
The regulatory requirements for financial institutions continue to increase. In recognition of this, the Board spends considerable time reviewing existing policies and, where required, developing new policies:
Work that has been conducted over the past six months includes:
- Development of an Outsourcing Policy
- Development of an Operations Policy
- Review of Capital Adequacy, Market Risk, Liquidity and Employee Policies
Board Appraisal and Succession
APRA’s new Governance Policy requires the Board to conduct an annual performance appraisal and develop a succession plan for Directors.
This work was undertaken during the past two months, involving an appraisal of the performance of the Board and of each individual director. The results were considered by the Board at a weekend workshop in April and areas for improvement have been identified and will be actioned soon.
Board has also now completed a Succession Plan for Directors. While the election of Directors is controlled by members, the plan identifies the competencies required collectively by Directors and this will be used in the process of filling any vacancies along with reviewing the fitness and propriety of members who stand for election.